The rebirth of the Ancient and Noble House of Black
by Sigyn Nigtmare
Summary: Prepare yourselves, for a new Lord Black is about to emerge. Death Eaters, fear his anger. Ministry of Magic, fear his influence and power. Enemies of the Black fear for your lives as you will not find mercy or forgiveness. Allies and Family, rejoice for a new era is coming. A glorious era where the old and noble House of Black will resurface. A new order begins today.
1. Prologue

**Returning Home.**

 _We, Blacks, have always been the elite of the magical community of England. Our last name was feared and respected, it was synonymous with power and greatness._

 _Until a few decades ago, where our family fell prey to a curse called madness and obsession. As a poison the disease contaminated us, breaking the mind and magic of some of our members. One after the other, we fell, weakening and corrupting us until all that remained of us were madmen and rabid dogs._

 _It was then that he appeared. A Dark Lord who promised to return our ancient glory to us if we followed him, sick and lost, we took his mark without thinking and made the terrible mistake of allowing our children to follow in our footsteps without knowing that we were condemning our Ancient and Noble House to destruction._

 _Three generations of Black's was what it took for our House to fall into dishonor and misery._

 _Two completely rotten, Grandparents and parents._

 _The third, that of my grandchildren, had black seeds that died in one form or another before reaching thirty years, however, during this generation our family had "traitors" who are now our only hope to get up again._

 _Therefore, here and now._

 _On my deathbed, I Arcturus Black III, proclaimed the end of an era. I take with me the sick blood of our family so I can let you, my children, be the creators of a new era. One where our family returns to its glory and I know that you can take them to that bright future, Jason._

 _I name you my heir._

 _I entrusted our future to you, Antares Jason Stark, because I know you will be a magnificent Lord Black._

Arcturus Black reread the last clause of his will and signed with a bitter smile. He knew he did not have much time left, he was dying. He could feel it. His body weakened with each instant that passed, his strength deserted him and his magic vanished into the air.

It had taken him a long time to make this decision because it was hard to admit that he had missed and that all the misfortunes of his family fell on him. After all, he had been Lord Black for the past six decades, he could have ordered his son and his daughter-in-law to stay away from that monster, he could have prevented his grandchildren from taking the mark, he could have prevented his blood from reneging what was his and he decided that exile was better than being trapped in the spiral of madness and death that surrounded them

But he did nothing.

And now, at the edge of death, he is able to see his mistakes. That is why he will take with him all those who died to follow this barbarian with delusions of grandeur and allow young people to rise up and create a new chapter in history.

Jason Stark: A Black in everything but name.

His grandson, one of his grandchildren by his sisters is a true Black: powerful, ambitious, clever and determined, but unfortunately had that condemned temper that led his family to commit atrocities without remorse.

The boy had always be destined to lead them.

The situation was not the desired one, but it would have to be. With Sirius in Azkaban, another of his many faults, the only one who could return the past glory to his Ancient and Noble House, was Jason

 **OoOoOoO**

Three months after signing and validating that document, the Patriarch of the Blacks died.

His death was local news. Many idiots celebrated, for it seemed to be the end of that damned and obscure dynasty they had both feared and envied. The Blacks no longer had heirs, the murderer Sirius Black was in jail and the other, Regulus, a Death Eater had died many years ago.

Oh, but while they feasted, the remaining members of this powerful House felt their magic grow and their blood roar within their veins. With the death of Arcturus a chapter in history was finished and another began. And both their blood, and the magic that was in it, required them to return to their roots and to the motto of the house: Toujours Pour.

"Always pure"

The motto did not refer to the purity of blood as many had erroneously believed in the past. No, it was about loyalty to the family. To put your family before everything else and not to stand before anyone.

Always pure.

Always worthy of carrying the name Black and all that this entails

 **OoOoOoO**

 _ **Malfoy Mansion, England, 1993.**_

Narcissa Malfoy, neé Black, felt the discharge of power in her veins the moment her uncle died. It was so strong that it made her gasp and close her eyes. The cup of tea in her hands fell to the floor, shattering as it crashed to the floor.

He momentarily lost her control over his metamorphmagus skills and his hair returned to the jet-black tone that was naturally, her power was partial and could only change the tone of his hair, contrary to her niece that was a full one and could change her entire appearance. She opened her eyes and they shone in a silver tone, cold and calculating, the eyes of the Black had always seemed to contain a storm and Narcissa´s were no exception. On her lips a predatory smile formed as she understood what had happened and what it meant.

Her husband, Lucius, who was sitting in front of her, gasped at the fierce appearance of his delicate and refined companion. A shudder ran through him from head to toe when he noticed how similar his wife looked to Bellatrix Lestrange, a resemblance that thanks to the small changes in the appearance of his beloved he had never really come to appreciate.

"Narcissa ..." his name left his lips in a muffled whisper and he certainly regretted having spoken when that fierce look focused on him and reminded him how terrible they had been (and were) the members of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.

The beautiful woman looked at her husband a few seconds before regaining control. Her hair returned to the blonde-platinum that always was, however, her expression did not change. She rose with graceful movements, ignoring the cup on the floor or her pale and scared man a few steps away from her and left the dining room, making her way to the room of her son Draco, her little dragon

"Mother?" her little boy looked at her confused and frightened, for he too had felt that explosion of power in his veins.

Upon hearing his voice, her eyes softened and with a sweet smile she entered the room and sat on the bed, taking her son in her arms and arranged him to be curled up against her.

"My love, we have to talk," she muttered, stroking the golden hair of her son with the tips of his fingers.

"About what, mother?" Asked curious the twelve year old, overcoming his fear to it be replaced by interest and curiosity.

"Of the Ancient and Noble House of Black ..."

 **OoOoOoO**

 _ **Home of the Tonks.**_

Mother and daughter felt the explosion of magic in their veins, but they had different reactions. For while Andromeda immediately knew what had happened and what it meant, Nymphadora had no idea what had happened and losing control of her abilities scared her greatly.

It was there, seeing her daughter frightened, when she should be celebrating was when Andromeda realized that she had failed her little fairy by not telling her about her family, about her inheritance and legacy.

"Oh, my love, do not be afraid, everything is fine," she murmured as she approached her daughter and wrapped her in a hug. Her daughter was still young, she could still remedy the damage she had caused with her resentment to his family.

"Shh, my life, everything would be fine" she continued singing while comforting his daughter, who was sobbing in her arms.

Once Nymphadora calmed down enough, she sat her down in one of the armchairs and settled down beside her. She took her hands in hers and looked directly into her eyes, gray vs. gray. Both pairs of eyes glowing from the power in their veins.

"Let me tell you a story, my love. A story about the Ancient and Noble House of Black..."

 **OoOoOoO**

 _ **Azkaban**_

In the prison there were two Blacks, one carried the name, while the other did not, but both felt the discharge of power running through their veins. The ecstasy that pure magic gave them after so long trapped in that damn place with those beasts feeding on their happiness made them go off to laugh in synchrony.

Bellatrix thundered with laughter that overflow with madness. A sound so horrible that it shook all those who heard it, because it spoke of desolation and death.

Instead, Sirius laughed hysterically. He combine laughter and crying at the knowledge that after all he struggle to separate himself from his family, to get away from the Blacks and their putrescence, the magic in his blood will sing in the same way he did with everyone else.

That once a Black, always a Black

 **OoOoOoO**

 _ **4 Privet Drive.**_

One could say that Harry Potter was not a member of the Black family, but you could not be more wrong. After all, James Potter was the son of Dorea Potter, neé Black. And James, like Jason, was a Black in everything but name.

So Harry, like Draco and Nymphadora, felt the magic explode in his veins. And as a result he was quite scared by the strange feeling and having no one who could explain what was happening it became much worse than it should have been.

And instead of joy he only felt fear and sadness before a void that he did not know how to fill.

However, the Black family's magic recognized him as his own and gave him the warmth that he lacked, silently promising that he would not be alone for long, since the most important thing for the Blacks is the family and Harry was family.

The green-eyed little boy fell asleep in bed, tired from crying to dryness, having no idea that he would soon be free of Muggles and their abuse, that someone would come to offer him the home he had been waiting so much.

 **OoOoOoO**

 _ **Stark Mansion, Bulgaria**._

Jason was signing some documents, doing the paperwork that came with being Lord Stark when it happened. Something that had not happened in years. A shock of power running through his veins and forcing him to surrender, to lower his head and kneel before the magnificence of the ancient and powerful magic that ran in the blood of the Blacks.

He gasped, his eyes turning amber for a second as it took him to regain his control over his inner wolf and he could barely contain the growl that struggled out of his lips when he exhibited his teeth. His hands tightened so hard on the edge of the desk that he left the imprint of his fingers on it.

His magic and blood shouted in synchrony that it was time to go home. To England.

Jason smiled bitterly, the least he wanted was to return. Not when he knew he did not have anything there, his mate would probably be in the company of the werewolf who answered to the name of Remus raising the James and Lily´s cub. There was no place for him.

He had known that from the moment they separated paths after Regulus' death. The thought of returning broke his heart, for his pack was no longer his. Those who remained would not want to see him in painting, let alone interact with him and the rest ... the rest had fallen, victims of the war.

However, he had no choice.

Blood calls blood.

Magic to magic.

And Jason is a Black. He cannot ignore the call.

He will return to Grimmauld Place and face with his head held high, like the Alpha he is, whatever awaits him because Toujours Pour was, had and remained until the moment of his death, the motto that ruled his life


	2. Chapter 1

**Taking the Title**.

"Welcome to England, Lord Stark." Gendric, he was an employee of the magic ministry. He worked in the division that was in charge of taking control of who entered and left the country. His voice trembled slightly because the aura surrounding the foreign Lord had something that made him feel enormously intimidated even though the attractive young man's appearance was of a distinguished and refined pureblood.

"Oh…D-Do you plan on staying for a long time?" He asked to know the reason for the visit and an average how long it would last. But when the brunet narrowed his eyes, he let out a little scream and lowered his head, scared. The truth was that he had never been very brave and preferred to avoid the problems, so he was thinking of simply letting him pass when the young man of noble descent answered his question with a soft and silky voice.

"Only the necessary. I come to a family member's funeral so I'll just stay until I finish fixing my affairs."

Gendric nodded quickly. He finished writing down the things on the papers and stamped the permission, before saying "I hope that your issues will be resolved promptly"

The young black-haired man nodded and gave him a small smile as he passed. Not knowing why the poor Gendric blushed and stood with his mouth open while the other man walked away. As if releasing himself from a trance, he shook his head and proceeded to concentrate on the next visitor waiting to be admitted

 **OoOoOoO**

Jason left the Ministry of Magic behind and proceeded to appear himself in Diagon Alley because he needed to visit the Gringotts headquarters in England to be able to contact the goblin in charge of family affairs and ask for the ´Portkey´ that would allow him to access Grimmauld. Place, or the place that Sirius would have chosen to read the will. With a sure step, he approached one of the counters.

"Good afternoon, my friend. I need to talk to Griptock." He said with an extremely respectful tone, bowing slightly to the elf of that powerful warrior nation that now controlled the gold of most of the world's magical community.

If he had learned something from Orion it was to be respectful to those who handled your gold, since being on the wrong side of the goblins meant only one thing: Your perdition.

The goblin nodded and asked him to follow him, guiding him to a private room. A room he had visited several times when he was younger, the room where the Black Family and the goblin who ran his account met to discuss the family's financial affairs.

Jason settled into one of the dark blue velvet armchairs with gold accents, adopting a position worthy of a king waiting in the throne room. For a long time, he had refused to admit his own nature and had been content to be a follower, a beta because he was sure that his mate would not appreciate him taking control as his instinct asked.

However, that changed when he left England and returned to Bulgaria. Now he was the Alpha that he should always have been, and that was evident in his posture, in the confidence that emanated from every pore of his body and in the aura of power that surrounded him.

"Welcome to Gringotts, Lord Stark"

"It's good to see you again, Griptock, I hope the family's gold has continued to grow since the last time we saw each other"

"Of course."

Jason smiled amused and gave a slight nod to the goblin, who in turn bared his teeth in what it could be called a smile while coming closer to the center of the room.

"You are the last to arrive, Lord Stark, so I will accompany you to your destination so that we can proceed with the reading of the will"

"Please" Jason easily accept the statement, after all, he expected something like that as it had taken him two days to prepare things for his trip; Although he did not expect to stay in England for long, he had had to arrange for someone he trusted to take care of his land and property in his absence as well as the legal procedure, together with the paperwork, had taken much more time than what he would have liked.

Besides that, while entering England was simple, the process took some time, more rows than anything else. Even if you were an important person, like him.

He got up and followed the goblin to the back of the desk, where he took a feather and an envelope between his hands, then extended his right hand where he held the owl feather. Jason took the pen carefully, and the moment his fingers touched the object the magic embedded in it was activated.

In a moment they were inside Gringotts and the next they landed on the thresholds of the grounds of the Black Mansion, where their grandfather Arcturus had lived after giving him as a wedding gift Grimmauld Place to Orion and Walburga. Jason frowned slightly at the choice of place as it did not make much sense, but he just shrugged and followed Griptock to the gates, where the blood barriers allowed him and his companion to pass.

The mansion was just as he remembered it from the boring Christmas dinners, which made him smile. It was good to be back, because although Bulgaria was his place of origin, England was his home. It had been since he had become an orphan at the age of six and his mate´s parents took him as he was their own He followed his instinct and let the magic guide him to one of the private rooms of the mansion located on the second floor because that was where the rest of his family was waiting.

Jason felt it in his blood, he was getting closer with each step he took to the other members of his family and his magic resonated in consequence. He was sure that the people inside that room could also feel it, so it was not surprising that before he could touch the doorknob it would open and let him see a beautiful woman with blond hair, who gave him that cold but gracious smile that was characteristic of the women of the Black Family before she step aside and let them pass. Inside the room, there were three armchairs, two doubles and one single. Also a desk with a chair, where it was evident that the handler was going to sit down while reading the will.

Upon seeing the seats, Jason experienced a bad feeling and fear settled in his chest, because he did not see Sirius or Harry anywhere. However, he took the time to greet his cousins and his nephews. Giving a kiss on the cheek to Cissy and her son -who was a carbon copy of her father, the poor thing- a handshake, keeping the protocols of the purebloods.

Then he went to where Andromeda and his daughter were. Andromeda wrapped him in a hug, which he returned with pleasure; she had always been more expressive than her other relatives and surely that was ones of the reasons why she had married Ted. Little Nymphadora also assaulted her with a hug that made her creaked his ribs. He only let go when Griptock cleared his throat to get their attention.

There was no time to talk or ask questions. They all sat in their places and paid attention to what the goblin had to tell them, since a will reading is a very important issue and if something bothers the goblins it is wasting their time, so even if Jason was burning in concern about his mate and James and Lily´s cub, he took a seat and closed his mouth. He would have time to ask once they concluded the matter

 **OoOoOoO**

"Excuse me, could you repeat that last part?" He asks with a courtesy that clashed with the foolish face that he was using at that time. His eyes were open to his limits and his mouth was so open that a bug could crawl at any moment.

It just didn't make any sense. Absolutely, no sense.

Sirius was supposed to be the heir. Even ´disinherited 'at the death of the patriarch, it was Sirius who was to inherit the title. _Not him_.

The fear in his chest grew at what might mean that Sirius could not inherit the title, as the implications were terrifying. What had happened to his mate? It would be possible that he had died?

 _Oh, Morgana. No. Do not tell me that our tie became so fragile that it broke and I did not realize that something bad had happened to it. Please, Merlin. Don't let my loved to be dead._ He thought in despair. The pain and sorrow of that being what had happened almost makes him have a panic attack, but the goblin's hard voice stopped him from plunging into misery.

"I said that your grandfather, the former Lord Black, appointed you as his heir. So now that his grandfather has passed away, you are the new Lord Black" the voice of the goblin left no room for further questions. His tone challenged Jason to continue making him waste his time.

So he nodded. His instinct took over by unconsciously realizing what it meant to be the new Lord Black; that the rest of his family had become his pack at that particular moment. They were now his responsibility, it was his duty to procure his welfare and happiness. He had failed once in the past, he did not intend to do it again.

"Excellent." Griptock again generated a grimace that was more teeth than a smile. "Do you want to do it here? Or do you prefer to perform the ritual in a more private area?"

"Here it´s fine, there is no need to move to another room." To his surprise, his voice didn't break and it sounded confident, severe, but soft. As he spoke he got up from his seat and headed for the desk, seeing, but not really registering, the excited looks the younger members gave him about the possibility of seeing in first class seats the family magic that their mothers had told them about.

The ritual to take control of the family was not really a secret. So there was no problem with letting the other members of the family attend, simply it was more effective to do it alone because usually the rite was carried out in the bank's offices.

Griptock placed a carved stone bowl and a silver dagger on the desk. Both items had been owned by the Blacks since the beginning, they were sacred in a certain way, as they were bathed in the blood of countless generations and covered in family magic.

An ancient and powerful magic, dark and cruel, warm and gentle, the magic that was in the veins of all the Black.

Jason knew what to do as he had performed a similar ritual when he took the title of Lord Stark. However, he was the last of the Stark. There hadn't been the pressure to take the leadership of a large family, to once again be part of a pack and to become the leader of the aforementioned one.

He takes the dagger with reverence, studying it carefully. It was old, beautiful and lethal.

"Before you proceed, Lord Stark, I want to ask you a question, do you want us to put the houses together?" The question had merit. Jason would be the Lord of two great and powerful houses, so it would be sensible to unite them and that their descendants would enjoy the power of both under one surname. Nevertheless…

"No. For now, I will keep the houses separate, Jason Stark will be Lord Stark, leader of one of the five most influential houses in Bulgaria and Antares Black will be the new Lord Black." He explained as his eyes gleamed golden for a moment and a predatory smile broke through his lips. He could feel the satisfaction vibrate in the magic of his cousins when listening to his words because they captured the meaning of these.

If he left the houses separate, Jason would have the protection of being a foreign Lord and would have many more freedoms than a local Lord, because neither the Ministry nor the Wizengamot could touch him since attacking him could mean war.

His handler's eyes shone with malice and he nodded in appreciation. "Then, proceed."

Antares wielded the dagger with his right hand. Without hesitation, he drew a line on his left palm, creating a deep cut that immediately started to bleed. He raised his hand and placed it on the container, proceeding to spill seven drops of his blood.

"I, Antares Jason Black, claim by blood, by law and by magic, the leadership of the Old and Noble House of Black. I swear to lead with honor and justice, to protect and care for those who belong to Our House or are allies to Our Name either by blood, by magic or by oath. I swear by my magic that I will bring justice to those who have betrayed us and punish those who have harmed us. As I have said, so be it!"

Once he finished speaking, a silver-colored fog rose from the container, rising and taking the shape of a raven, the animal that represented the Blacks and the shape of its guardian. The crow looked him in the eyes and emitted a powerful caw before stamping on his chest, piercing it and dissipating inside him.

The magic of the family had accepted his oath.

It was done.

Jason was the new Lord Black.

* * *

 **Thank you for the reviews! :3**

 **BookandAnimeNerd**

 **Tyler´sPrincess: Eh, no. Jason is not a werewolf, he actually is a Direwolf. I´m going to explain at more detail in the future chapters.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Harsh Truths**

"I think it's all on my part, Lord Black, at least you need me for something else?" Griptock asked, looking into the aforementioned eyes.

"No, that's all. Thank you for your services, Griptock. Take what is owed to you, plus the ten percent from the main vault" Jason replied with a polite smile, to which the goblin nodded and proceeded to pick up the things to be able to retire. After all, now the reading of the testimony was over, he had nothing to do in the house and was burning with desire to return to Gringotts, since he was not in the mood to lose money. And for him, as for any other goblin, time is money.

"As always it was a pleasure to serve the Old and Noble House of the Blacks". The farewell was received by three educations inclinations of head on the part of the adults in the room

Jason watched the figure of his handler disappear by the door, knowing that he would use a Portkey to return to the bank's premises once he was outside the barriers, so the new Lord did not care much about leaving the gobbling alone in his house and instead he focused his attention on his relatives.

He sat on the edge of the desk and his silver gaze went to the other members of his family, studying them for a few moments with a stern expression, before smiling, a warm and pleasant smile.

"Draco, Nymphadora, why do not you go explore the mansion while your mothers and I discuss the affairs of the House? Think of this as a treasure hunt, because if you find something that you really like, you can keep it." He said with a mischievous tone, enjoying the reactions of his nephews, whose immediately got up with expressions full of enthusiasm and left the room almost running to do what their new family leader had told them, just waiting enough to see the nod of their respective mothers.

Once the children left the room his expression changed and he became tarnished with a certain darkness. His magic spread all over the place and his irises glowed golden in a display of power.

"Cissy, Dromeda, I'm surprised to see that you can be in the same room without killing each other" he commented with a light tone while giving them a smile that was more teeth than anything else.

"Oh, the miracles that a bit of _Harmony_ brings with it. Don't you think, Antares?" The blonde haired witch replied cynically as she exchanged with her sister a mocking smile.

"But you already knew that, did not you?" Andromeda asked with a dangerous glow in his silver orbs as she turned to their new Lord.

"Of course" The only man in the room easily agreed while making a gesture to cover the room and showing them a malicious smile "Otherwise this meeting would have ended in tears and a blood bath"

The three laughed in response to such wise comment, their laughter contained a black humor very typical of their family. It was evident for the adult members of House Black that the magic in their veins wanted them to take things slowly and had forced a synchronicity in all of them, to avoid that the fights of the past got in the way of the new era that was opening at their feet.

Forgotten were the fights that had separated them, the pain and anger that came with being betrayed by the family that was supposed to be by your side no matter what happened...

The hatred and resentment had also vanished as soon as they entered the mansion and returned home, thus allowing a clean and new beginning to be possible. Something that would have been impossible without the intervention of magic as it was hard to forget all the bad things between them.

"I know that as a family we have a lot to discuss, but I want us to concentrate on this issue for the moment. I could not help noticing the absence of two people, one of whom would have received the title of Lord if he had been here, so, cousins of mine. What do you know about _my mate_ and James' cub?" Jason voice contained a note of danger that would have made anyone tremble at the possessiveness he had when speaking about Sirius.

However, the sisters did not flinch, knowing that they were not in danger. Not really, because they counted on the protection of their blood and knew that Antares was not going to harm them now that they were part of _his_ pack.

They had not been able to do anything to help Sirius as their complaints fell on the deaf ears of the world. And, of course, the fact that their third was a crazy killer did not help much to argue about Sirius' guilt as he was labelled as any other member of House Black, a dark wizard, a Death Eater.

Now, the matter with The-Boy-Who-Lived was a little more complicated. Both had wanted to adopt the boy in the days following the death of the Potters, but ended up blocked by the ´great´ Albus Dumbledore and never had the opportunity to see the child, let alone contact him. The years passed and the duty to their own families won; for the boy had disappeared from the magical world until the inner year and none of them had dared to contact him when he was at Hogwarts.

"Unfortunately, we do not have good news for you, My Lord, so it will be better for you to sit" Andromeda commented seriously. At what her cousin just an emitted feral growl that caused a shudder to run through her spine, she, unlike Narcissa, found that insane bestiality that had always existed in Antares extremely frightening.

True to be told, no one of them knew why Jason had decided to return to Bulgaria when it was evident that he had a pack in the Marauders, but they both were aware that it didn't matter, the other three boys had been as precious to Antares as Regulus had been…but Sirius had always been his cousin's number one priority and what they were about to tell him would probably be a very hard blow for Jason.

They regretted that they were going to be the ones who caused that pain, but their cousin needed to know. They shared a look and Narcissa started to tell Jason all what had happen in his absence.

When Cissy finished speaking Jason lost control.

Rage. Pain. Hate. Misery. Regret.

All those feelings swirled inside her, making her magic destroy the room, leaving her in ruins (However, I do not touch the place where her cousins were sitting) and her face transformed into a terrifying and disturbing mix between her human features and his wolf features, at the same time a thunderous howl tore the calm of the house.

Jason had always prided himself on having extraordinary control over his magic and his animal instincts, it was his Stark blood and the Black tradition of teaching his children Occlumency, no doubt about it. For even with his heart broken by the death of his little brother and the rejection of his mate, his control didn't stumble, but now...

Now, Sirius was trapped in the place that was much worse than hell itself. He had been there for the last _eleven years_ of his life.

And Harry, the only cub that his previous pack produced, had been raised by Muggles. And from the description Narcissa had given him – about the things Draco had seen during his first year at Hogwarts– he had all the signs of being abused.

Abused!

James and Lily´s cub.

His cub.

He was going to destroy those damned Muggles. _Tear them to pieces whit his claws and fangs_. As well as the bastard who had put his beloved in that horrible place.

Anger was much better than guilt, so Jason thought of revenge rather than giving in to the torturous thoughts that said it was all his fault.

That if he had taken his herd with him to Bulgaria this would not have happened.

His pack would be alive.

His mate would not be locked in Azkaban.

His cub would have grown up in a home where love abounded instead of being abused.

 **OoOoOoO**

It took Antares a few moments to regain his control and force his magic to relax and his features to return to normal. His breathing was agitated and his eyes were full of tears. His aura only conveyed a feeling: grief. So Narcissa got up and approached, hugging the boy and stroking her hair to comfort him a little.

She and Antares had been pretty close growing as children, for they had a similar personality and beliefs, but of course, they had separated paths after Sirius dragged Jason away from the family by moving with the Potters when they were sixteen.

They were in that position a couple of moments before Jason pulled away a bit with a moderately embarrassed expression, while laughing nervously.

"If you don't mention this to anyone, I'll make sure to give them the best gifts next Christmas," he muttered, trying to joke; still embarrassed by his actions, trying to pretend that nothing had happened.

"And I thought that being your cousins guaranteed us a good Christmas gift ... How sad to know that I've been deceived all my life," Narcissa sarcastically argued while shaking her head slightly. Which helped to relax the mood and the three proceeded to pretend that the embarrassing scene hadn't happen, much to Jason relief.

"Well, if you do not mind, My Lord, I think it's a good time to look for our puppies and have that dinner you promised us," Andromeda added as she got up from her seat.

"It sounds like a good idea," Agreed the new patriarch, smiling at the choice of words from the brunette knowing she had used that kind of speech to please him. Before they went to Hogwarts, Bellatrix always made fun of him for his weird form of expressing himself, but at the same time it was difficult to the sisters not end copping him when they passed the summer together, much to the despair of their parents.

It always had made him happy that his family talked in the way of the Starks. That actually was why he was very happy of being part of the Marauders and why he never felt offended by Remus, because it had been a relief to find another wolf.

 **OoOoOoO**

Dinner was going smoothly. Something that helped Jason to feel better, it had been eleven years since he had last dined in the company of his pack and although there were missing members, it was a good start.

Now, he had planned to recover his mate and his cub, bring them home, ensure they heal and guarantee their happiness.

That was his priority right now. And if to achieve this it was necessary to put the magical world on his knees, he would do it with pleasure, because although he never had the desire to use his knowledge to harm others, he had never hesitate to use his vast knowledge in the Dark Arts to good use. And to make pieces those stupid people who hurt those he had claimed as his own, would be a good start.

However, and luckily for many, it was not in his nature to kill people without rhyme or reason. After all, he was a Slytherin and they were characterized by well-planned plans and the use of cunning to get what they want.

Therefore, he was going to take things slowly.

His new position as Lord Black gave him a good base to get what he wanted as even with everything that had happened the surname Black imposed respect and was loaded with influences.

A cruel and sadistic smile opened up on his lips. He raised his glass and proposed a toast that was chorused by the other four. The witches understood the importance of their words and what they meant, the little ones could not understand everything, but still they could feel the magic vibrating in their veins.

"Long live the Old and Noble House of the Blacks"

 **OoOoOoO**

Once the children were in their beds (it was customary for the family to stay under the same roof until the funeral will take place, so they would spend four days in the mansion and the husbands of Cissy and Dromeda would join them at the event as a sign of respect for the House of their wives) the three adults stayed in a more intimate room.

They had drinks overflowing with the best _Firewhisky_ , they were discussing the steps to follow to guarantee The Reborn of their House.

It was something exceptional, a united front of all the members of the house. Something that would impose fear on the hearts of the people who had damaged them or who thought of doing it and would raise the hopes of their allies, because it was something that had not happened in at least eight decades.

"Your husband, Ted, is a lawyer, right?" Inquired the Lord, looking calculatingly at Andromeda, who confirmed his information, which brought out a smile in the dark-haired man.

"Excellent" Antares purred. "I need someone I can trust to carry out our legal movements; the processes we have to take to demand the release of my mate, as well as the proper papers for adoption"

"So, are you planning to adopt James's boy?"

"That's right, if I'm not mistaken, Sirius has custody, since it's his godfather and therefore I have the right to take Harry under my protection, but I do not want to risk that stupid Headmaster trying to keep him away from me. Adopting it means that nobody is going to be able to take it from me" His voice was husky and threatening, it contained the same possession as when he spoke of his mate which made the two witches smile, because that only meant that Jason was going to love and protect Harry as if he should be his son.

The boy was not going to suffer abuse again and would enjoy with the unconditional love of a father who would do everything possible for a happy future, as well as with the support of a real family. It would be good by both of them, for the poor child and for their Lord.

"I need your husband to get me the address of that Muggles as soon as possible," he added looking at his blonde accomplice, who simply nodded, preferring to ignore the tone of repulsion that his cousin used when referring to Lucius, knowing that Jason hated to death all Death Eaters because he considered them responsible for the death of Regulus, as well as those of James and Lily.

However, she knew that while her husband was useful, Antares would not eliminate him. And she planned for her partner to be useful in getting her new Lord to get the custody of Harry Potter; Lucius had contacts in the Ministry and now that The-Boy-Who-Lived was back in the Magic World someone should know where the boy resided. And if someone had that knowledge, her husband would be the one getting it.

"I'll send an owl to Lucius to start the search immediately," Narcissa said with a malicious twinkle in his eyes. With Jason at the helm of the family came a new era, a magnificent one for those who enjoyed his favor and this would soon be evident, so she was eager to see how things would change from now on.

After all, his cousin had always had the soul of a conqueror and she better than anyone knew this. Soon, the entire country would remember why you didn't want to mess with the members of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.


	4. Chapter 3

**Family Matters**

For Lucius Malfoy the last week had been a nightmare. Everything he had built in the last eleven years went down the drain with the death of Arcturus Black. His political empire, his place in the chain of power and the life he hoped to have next to his beautiful wife and his only son. All lost.

And now he was being used as a simple servant by his wife who had sent him an owl demanding that he seek the address of the cursed Boy-Who-Lived!, but that was not the only thing in the letter.

No. The owl had also brought with him the words he had feared so much when he realized that the magic in his wife's blood had revived. The birth of a new Lord Black. He had hoped that with Sirius in prison the subject had been forgotten.

He had believed that Jason Stark was not going to return to England because the man had shown no interest in what he had left behind and seemed happy in Bulgaria. He hoped that once the Patriarch of the Blacks would move on to the next life and with the possible successors out of the way, his son, Draco would inherit the title once he came of age.

Obviously he had underestimated his wife's family.

Because not only that man had returned. No, he had taken control of the Black family and got a united front. Something unthinkable. Although that was not the only bad thing, since also thought to release Sirius Black and adopt Harry Potter, which would become the next heir.

If his opponent were another man instead of the damned Antares Jason Stark, Lucius would have fought tooth and nail to regain what was his, but opposing Jason would only lead to death. And not a pious one, no, he was sure that the bastard would make sure to make him suffer before killing him

Jason was a year younger than him. They had gone to school together and he knew perfectly well that he was not someone he should be with. After all this years, he remembered perfectly…

He remembered how in his first night he had caused serious injuries to the pair of six years that had dared to say that Sirius Black was a disgrace to his family. He remembered the screams of pain that they let out when the little boy used a dark curse in them, without blink, a tin line in his lips and a cruel glow in his grey eyes.

He remembered how the entire room had been filled in silence.

He remembered how Bellatrix had laughed and started clapping before standing and saying how proud she was. Bellatrix had been the Queen of the House of Snakes, it had been her six year in the school and following the tradition she was the one ruling as she was the Black sister whit more power.

He remembered how she had given Antares the Crown that night.

He remembered how that first year passed and everyone learned that Sirius Black should not be touched if you didn't want to be in Antares bad side.

He remembered how when little Regulus got sorted in Slytherin, Antares stepped back and give his brother the Crown, he stayed at his knight. The shadow that made sure that everyone respect Regulus, who was not less scary than his older brother when crossed even if he didn't had in him to be as cruel and dangerous as Antares was.

But above all, he still remembered the rumors in his last year. The rumors the Dark Families knew as true; the ones that said that Antares had murdered Orion Black, after he had tried to use an unforgivable in Sirius, and then fled whit him to the Potter´s House. He had done that to the man he always referred as _Father_ if Antares was able to that to a member of his family, Lucius fear what would do to him.

He also remembered how his Master had wanted the boy to join them and his cause and Lucius was sure that if it wasn't for his fixation with Sirius it would be very likely that he would have, since Jason was a wizard with a great talent for the Dark Arts and he was not afraid to use them as had been demonstrated the few times he got involved in the war to protect James and Sirius, whom he had taken as his own, when people forgot what the dangerous boy had made clear in his years in Hogwarts.

But after Regulus' death something had happened and he left England. He leave everything behind and vanished.

It was not until after the fall of his master that they heard again about an international event, it turned out that the young wolf had taken his birthright and had become Lord Stark

For all that, Lucius _knew_ that facing him would be a mistake and fail in the mission that had been entrusted to him through his wife, would mean the same as failing his Master, so he set out to find the address of the Muggles immediately.

After all, it was in his best interest to stay on the friendly side of Antares.

And getting him that address so he could rescue Potter would be a good way to start.

Lucius, was a Slytherin, he knew that it was often better to lower his head if he wanted to survive and that no price is too high to ensure his survival. He wanted to live through the changes that the new Lord Black would undoubtedly bring, so he would be useful and not get in the way of that man.

 **OoOoOoO**

Ted did not know what to expect from Jason. That was because although they had seen each other and lived together in some meetings in the past, but he did not know if the new Lord was remotely similar to the young man who used to tag along with the Marauders and seemed to adore Sirius, because after he moved to Bulgaria, Andromeda had commented that they were lucky that Jason did not get involved more than he had already in the war and when he asked why, his beloved's answer left him frozen.

Andromeda and Bellatrix were pretty similar in appearance. It was easy to confuse them from a distance, because only from close up could the small details that made them different be appreciated. However, at that moment, Ted had trouble to control the chill that ran through him to see that gloomy expression on the face of his beloved.

 _"It's better this way, because if Jason decided to fight seriously, both sides would have a huge amount of casualties, my cousin is suffering from Regulus' death, if he had stayed it would not be long before the Death Eaters started to fall like flies, but also the people who tried to stop it, whether they were Aurors or members of that Order."_

So yes, he was nervous.

He had brought with him the forms of adoption that his wife had asked for after the new Lord and had begun to analyze Sirius Black's case to see what legal measures could be taken. However, this issue brought him headaches, because in the three days he had since the owl arrived and the day of the funeral (today) he did not find any record of Sirius' trial even though he had done everything to be able to find him.

He swallowed hard and could not help looking at his beloved, who was at his side with a relaxed air. The funeral had ended a few minutes ago, but the people surrounding the New Lord did not seem to diminish with the passage of time.

All those who had been invited had attended to pay their respects to the previous patriarch and to see who would be his successor. Most of the people in the mansion were high-profile, pureblood families, top brass in the ministry, the press… Come on! Even the Minister of Magic was here.

All wanting to have a small look at the person who had united the members of his house under the same banner and who had announced the previous day before all the Wizengamot the claim of his title.

It had been a scandal. The magical world of England wanted to know who it was and if it was true that there was an heir that they did not knew about that Noble and Ancient Family.

Ted stopped breathing for a second when he noticed that the man was heading towards where he and his family were. It was undoubtedly different from the boy he remembered, for while the young man in his memories behaved like a puppy who was happy following with the natural leadership in James and Sirius, now he imposed respect and carried the aura of a true leader.

"Good evening, Ted, Dromeda, Nymphadora" He greeted with a charming smile and a velvety tone that invited to feel glad to have your attention despite the intimidating aura that seemed to surround him.

"Lord Black" he muttered without being able to suppress his surprise at the calm reaction of his daughter to hear his name, his little piece of heaven detested his full name and always threatened / ordered to be addressed to her by his last name. But there he was, looking at his host with a smile, without shouting or complaining. He was stunned.

Jason laughed, warm and kind, and part of the tension Ted had vanished.

"Oh, please, Ted, I thought we were past the stage where we used to call each other by our last names," commented the black-haired man with an arched eyebrow. To which he could only smile somewhat embarrassed as it was true. When he had married Andromeda, both Sirius and Jason had asked him to call them by name and not by their last name, because they were family.

 **OoOoOoO**

It had been a long night for Jason. Not only because of the emotional load that brought the funeral, since although he had not been very close to Arcturus as an adolescent, when he had been a child he adored man, in the same way he had loved Walburga and Orion.

He had lost his parents when he was very young and the Blacks had been his family. The only one he remembered and always wanted to impress and please. And for a time he did, contrary to his mate, he was everything his beloved's parents could wish for: He was a Slytherin at heart, had a great talent born for the Dark Arts and lacked that moral compass that most of people caused them to hesitate to use such knowledge.

However, when he was sixteen he cut ties with his family. With all of them but Andromeda and Regulus, with her cousin because she had the same ideals as her partner and that made her "safe" and with Regulus because she considered him his brother and knew that he understood why he had done what he did to Orion

After that he did not interact with the Blacks again and that distance was only amplified when he returned to Bulgaria. But he did not cry only form the loss of the Blacks who bore the family name, but also to his cousin James and his wife, whom he had lost years ago, but for whom he had never properly mourned.

So losing his grandfather left a bitter taste in his mouth as it brought with it the harsh reality of everything he had lost in the last years and he had ignored in ignorance.

Which only worsened at the insistence of people who had only attended the funeral to talk to him and see if they could get something that would be useful. There had been a couple of brazen men who were given the task of trying to get their favor! Among them, there was the Minister of Magic who seemed to be between terrified and eager to speak to him, to know in which stay he was staying and if his presence in the country was favorable for him or if instead he was a threat.

Of course, Jason had been his lovely being and in less than five minutes he had the dumb man eating from the palm of his hand. It was easy to deal with bureaucrats without brains as for good fortune he had been doing it for eleven years, although in Bulgaria the fools and incompetents did not reach such high places.

The only redeeming thing is that thanks to his orders to the house elves they have not had the misfortune of Dumbledore joining the burial. And thanks to Merlin for it, because it would have been counterproductive to his plans that he ended up murdering the damn idiot who put his cub with those fucking Muggles.

Both Dromeda and Cissy had agreed that it was better to avoid the Headmaster until Harry was with them and the murderous yearnings that he felt when he thought of him were reduced to something more manageable... something that did not end in homicide in front of many witnesses

Jason let out a sigh and cut off his conversation with Lord Nott as his storm gray eyes spotted Theodore Tonks, who was with his wife and daughter, waiting patiently a few feet from the door of the great hall where the funeral was taking place following the traditions of the House.

It was time to talk to his relatives by union and see if they had good news.

So he signaled to Narcissa and started walking towards where the Tonks were, noticing Ted's nervousness. Which made him smile, because it was not the first time someone behaved like this in his presence. It was quite fun to watch, but it would not help, so he did his best to calm him down and make him feel comfortable. He needed the trust to be mutual if he wanted his idea of using Ted as a link whit the Ministry to do all the legal moves of the family.

He had the children escorted to their rooms when the time was right, ordering the elves to take care that they stayed in the room and that nothing interrupted their sleep. Then he guided his four family members to his new office, where he offered Firewhisky and everyone accepted. Once they were comfortably seated, he proceeded to ask what news they had brought him.

To Ted with a friendly tone and full of curiosity. And Lucius with a cold, demanding tone that contained a threatening note about what might happen to him had failed in the task given him.

They were not Black

They did not share their blood, so the Harmony that had erased the resentment and rancor in Narcissa, Andromeda and himself, did not cover them. That's why Jason's opinions were based on the experience he had with them.

Ted was nice and he had liked him from the moment Andromeda introduced him to them. It was family.

Instead, Lucius was a servant of the man who snatched a large part of his pack. Jason hated him in the same way that he hated all the other minions that had served Voldemort and would not hesitate to eliminate him if his didn't resulted useful.

Fortunately for Lucius, he had the information that he wanted so much. The address where his cub lived.

 _4 of Privet Drive, in Little Whinging, Surrey_

Antares was pleased whit the information, Harry was going to be home for the afternoon of the next day if he had something to say about it and he did, so it was practically a fact. It was a good new that served as a balsam in the face of the apparent inability to find anything about his mate´s trial, which worried him a lot, but he trusted Ted and knew that he was not going to disappoint him.

* * *

 **As always thank you for the reviews. I´m wishing that you like the story so far ;)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Rescuing Harry**

Narcissa had been his accomplice during his childhood and adolescence years, since they had a similar personality and goals in life. Both had dreamed of getting married and having a family with the person they loved, beyond power and riches or even the desire for adventure, so Cissy had been his confidant in the past.

They had been friends and accomplices until he had to choose between the Blacks and the well-being of his mate. After that, the tension between them grew when they realized that the other had become an obstacle in the way they had to go to get what they craved.

In reality, they had nothing against each other, but their loved ones were enemies. And not exactly using the term lightly, if not, enemies who give themselves the opportunity would kill each other. This knowledge did not help the hostilities between them, since both would go to extremes to protect those they loved and ensure that their dreams were fulfilled.

However, all that had been left in the past.

They were back in sync thanks to the Family Magic. And frankly, Jason could not blame her for triumphing where he had failed. Cissy had achieved everything she had wanted: A life with the man she loved and a beautiful son who obviously made her happy.

He knew he would never have that.

For while Sirius was _his_ –Their essences and magic complemented each other in a completely unusual and perfect way, making them practically what are called soul mates– his heart did not belong to him. He had never done it and surely never would be.

"Whatever you're thinking about, stop, we're coming." Ordered her cousin while giving him a light tap on the shoulder, effectively removing him from his depressive thoughts and getting him to focus on what was in front of him, noting that she was right, they had already arrived at Privet Drive.

They had decided to go together because the presence of both would be less noticeable to Jason's alone, because with Cissy back in her natural appearance, they could pass for brothers or for a couple. It was less eye-catching even though they wore tunics of exquisite acromantula skin, with gold and green ornaments, as well as details with diamonds; in short they looked like the pair of rich and powerful purebloods they were, even if for The Muggles vision changed to one more in keeping with their vision of the world, but which represented the same.

Besides that it was a friendlier approach and less likely to scare the little one who had his blood running through his veins.

They had appeared on the outskirts of the town as a precaution and proceeded to walk to the address, because they wanted to rescue Harry without alerting the idiot Headmaster that it was perhaps a greater threat to his family than the Dark Lord was at the time.

They soon found the house that carried the number four and Jason narrowed his eyes looking suspiciously at the construction.

"What is it?" asked confused Draco´s mother looking at his cousin, taking a defensive stay, her right hand brushing the wand that rested between her robes. She did not notice anything wrong, but Antares had always been better at noticing the small details in the magic, which was what gave him that naturalness with the Dark Arts.

"Blood barriers" The wolf stated in an ominous tone.

"Excuse me?" Narcissa asked a little confused at what his cousin was referring to.

"There are traces that there was a blood barrier surrounding the house for years, but it is gone, I would say it disappeared a week ago ..." Jason explained in a monotonous voice.

It coincided with the date of the death of his grandfather, with the date where each member of the Black family received a reminder of who they were, what they were. A dark smile settled on his lips, because the blood barrier had been broken meant that Harry was a Black, that the magic in his blood was the same that ran in the veins of others, but at the same time it meant that there was come the end faith the Potters.

It was sad that a Noble and Old House was extinguished, but better that they were the Potters to the Black

In addition, Harry would end up inheriting the house Stark, Black and Potter united under the banner of the Black when the right time come, because Jason thought to join their titles and houses when the situation was more prosperous so it really did not change things much.

"Oh, well, that just proves that the boy is one of ours, is not it?" She murmur with a sweet smile on her lips.

"Precisely," Jason declared with a warm glow in his silver eyes.

 **OoOoOoO**

Petunia Dursley hurried to open the door when she heard the doorbell, she did not expect visitors, but you never knew. When she opened the door with a plastic smile on her face she gasped as she observed a highly attractive couple with obvious economic power standing in her doorway.

She blinked a couple of times and part her lips to ask what they were looking for, but no sound came from her lips. She was left speechless at the sight that was in front of her.

The beauty of the woman intimidated and full of envy, because her features were aristocratic, her hair was perfect and she also possessed unusual gray eyes that only enhanced the beauty of her face. In addition, she was dressed in clothes that seemed to be made of silk, gold and some diamond details.

Instead, the handsome man made the rhythm of his heart increase and his cheeks blush because he was seeing someone who entered the category of "man of your dreams" of any woman. He had on his lips, a charming smile, his face was harmonious and masculine, his eyes shone in silver tones and although the black hair that framed his face was too long for her taste, it only made him look even more attractive, as he remembered to a prince of past eras.

The young man proceeded to mutter a word that she did not understand – _Imperio –_ in the most sensual voice she had ever heard before her mind collapsed in the darkness.

 **OoOoOoO**

"This place is horrible," Narcissa said with disdain, making a slight grimace as she looked inside the house. To which Jason could only release a laugh. _Of course_ that the aesthetic of the place was going t be the first thing his sweet cousin noticed.

Although he had to admit, Cissy was right. The decoration of the house was frankly boring and a bit pathetic, but well not everyone could have the fashion sense they had. Merlin knew that his mother had always had a horrendous taste in decoration...

A chill ran through him as he remembered the heads of the house elves on the wall in the hall of Grimmauld Place. So he decided to change the direction of his thoughts and focus on being a few minutes away from meeting Harry.

Jason had seen him when he was a baby, but it did not count much since his cub did not remember him and ultimately he could only carry it and play with him for half an hour before Lily and James had to return to England to celebrate with the rest of the family, Christmas Eve.

He was really excited and a little anxious about the idea of meeting his cub and being able to take him home once the whole thing was clarified.

Anyway, Petunia had let them into the house under his instructions. And while they settled in the downright ugly room, she had gone to look for Harry to be able to fix the "transfer of custody" as soon as possible.

Neither of the Blacks feared reprisals from the Ministry while using magic in a Muggle area because they knew the rules of the game and how to avoid getting into trouble; since using magic without a wand, there was no connection between the spell and the wizard who made it, and they could be sure that the alarms would not ring within the ministry because the magic tracker for minors was embedded in the wands and without wands, the magic simply flows.

Although the majority of the population did not know this small but important secret. And of course, there were not many wizards who could throw an unforgivable without their wand. Yes, Jason was that good. He had to practice many years to be able, but it had been a good investment. Of course, he didn't went using unforgivables on other people just because, he only use them when was absolutely necessary. Like now.

He also had made his curse way more subtle than that of a large majority, since he put the idea or command in the subconscious so the affected person honestly believed that they were doing it because that was his wish. Which generates obedient and faithful slaves to whom freedom from compulsion was almost impossible.

He had always been interested in this kind of magic and had work hard to been able to performance the spell as well as adaptation it.

But, lest focus our attention in the important thing again. His cub.

Jason smiled when he heard small steps down the stairs, followed by the subtly more mechanical steps of the owner of the house. His eyes opened a couple of millimeters to see how physically similar Harry was to James, since at first instance the little boy looked like a clone of his father with the eyes of his mother. Although it did not take him long to notice the subtle differences, such as the tone of his hair, which was a darker pair of tones, or the shape of his face, which was more similar to Lily's than James's. Although the form in which it presented itself, it was a great indicator that the horrors his cub had suffered at the hands of the Muggles.

James had been raised to be a pureblood, heir to a Noble and Old House, walked with his head held high and with an aristocratic grace; he had been the proud son of Dorea Black in spite of Potter. Harry, on the other hand, walked as if he wanted to hide from the world and feared to attract attention. He had seen something like this in other abused children. The view was simply sad.

"Hi, Harry" he greeted with a loving smile as soon as the little one sat down in front of them following his aunt's instructions.

"My name is Jason Black, and this beautiful woman by my side is my cousin Narcissa," he introduced them as he watched his cub's eyes expand, showing his surprise at the synchronization of his magic: a tingling in his veins.

Both adults smiled when they felt it and verified what they already knew: The blood in the veins of the green eyed boy called to his. Their magic recognized him as one of his own. _Harry was a Black_.

"We are here to take you home"

 **OoOoOoO**

Harry sat facing the strangers looking at them suspiciously. His aunt had said that he had visitors waiting for him in the room and that he should go down immediately.

Which in itself was weird. Because the only visitors he could have were his friends, Ron and Hermione, and it was very unlikely that they would visit him. And even less likely that his aunt would let them into the house, considering that they were also what she considered Freaks.

However, those who are waiting in the room are two adults.

Wizards.

Pure-bloods.

He knows by the way they are dressed, both with robes that are obviously very expensive, they also have that air that Malfoy has, the one that says that he knows that the world must kneel at his feet. But their eyes are gentle and the smile of the man when greeting him reminds him of his aunt when he speaks to Dudley or Molly when he sees his children...

And he cannot believe that someone is seeing him with that love hidden in such a simple gesture. He is speechless and unable to answer the greeting.

He opens his mouth and closes it a couple of times looking for something to say, when he feels it.

The same sensation that scared him so much a week ago, that tingling in his veins that makes his magic go crazy and strange things happen, when the man - Jason - mentions his last name. However, he did not have time to panic or think about what that meant, because the next words that came from the man's lips caused his brain to have a short circuit.

"Take...T-take me to ...h-home...?" He stutter the question, feeling like a little boy.

Like the little boy who, before knowing that he was a wizard, dreamed one day and another too that a rich uncle was coming to rescue him and take him to a home where he would be loved like any other child. This looked very similar to his dream, which was impossible. It was wrong and it made him feel an immense desire to cry, because there was no way it was true.

And at the same time, he wanted to believe it. He wanted to believe that there was someone out there who loved him and had finally come to rescue him.

 **OoOoOoO**

Jason´s heart contracted at the heartbreaking sight. A child should not have that look that mixed fear, despair and hope in his face. His eyes softened the moment the little boy could repeat what he had said and his emerald orbs filled with tears.

Oh, his poor cub.

"Cissy, why do not you take Petunia to the kitchen and fix the paperwork while I explain Harry the situation?" he said without taking his eyes off the little boy in front of him.

He felt the change in the chair that showed that Narcissa had risen. "Of course" His cousin grabbed the other woman by the wrist and took her from the room, getting her to sign the papers was going to be simple.

While this was happening, Jason got up and went to the chair where his puppy was sitting, kneeling to the side and taking the child's hands in his.

"It's a long story, but it's worth listening to. Will you let me tell you?" He said, looking straight into his eyes, gray and green facing each other.

He smiled when Harry nodded.

Then he proceeded to tell his story in broad strokes. All of it, so he could understand exactly what their relationship was and why he had not come to pick him up until now, explaining why his magic had grown and changed. All in the most sincere way he found, using his magic to illustrate some things through images or the recreation of scenes. Although of course, he told some very personal things happen by the surface, such as the reason for his break with Sirius or the reason why they ran away from home to sixteen and went to live with the Potters.

When he finished, Harry was silent, meditating a little on everything he had heard. Jason understood and did not distract him, letting him be in his thoughts for as long as necessary, because he knew it was a lot of information to digest and would surely change the way he saw the world.

"So I have an f-family that…l-loves m-me ...?"

"Yes, little one. We all love you and we want you to be with us"

"And I will not have to live with the Dursleys anymore?"

" _Never_. Nobody will ever turn away from my side, cub" Jason promised fiercely, his eyes changing to gold and his magic swirling around his little one to give him comfort and protection.

Harry watched him for a moment before hugging him. Jason smiled and returned the hug, circling his back with one hand and holding him with the other. He stand up with his son in his arms, the child almost not weighed, he started to mutter words of affection in low tones while Harry cried and let escape eleven years of suffering.

"Shh, everything's going to be fine, Harry," he promised.

Narcissa had returned to the room and when their eyes connected, she gave a small nod. Telling him silently that he was ready.

"Ok, honey, I need you to cling to me, I'm going to transport us to our home, ok?" He murmured in the young child´s ear, to which Harry nodded even with his head buried in his chest.

With that, the three wizards disappeared. Leaving an order in Petunia's mind: _Within three weeks, shoot your husband three times in the chest. Your son once in the head. And when you finish, hang yourself._

They had wanted to do much more damage, cause _pain_ to the Muggles that had dared to hurt one of their own, but they couldn't risk it. They could not afford to make mistakes just to quench their thirst for blood, because that would ruin their plans for the future and Antares was not going to let that happen, not when Sirius was still in danger, so Petunia Dursley was going to do the dirty work.

It was not the most satisfying way, but Narcissa and Jason agreed that it was the best as it did not involve magic, they could not be blamed for the acts of a crazy woman.

* * *

 **Meester Lee: Unfortunately there will be no real punishment for the Dursleys, since Jason can not risk Dumbledore feeling that there is something wrong before he has had time to lay the foundations of his power.**

 **Jadely31: Glad you like the story so far! I whis this chapther is also satisfaing.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Reuniting the pack whit the lost cub**

Jason decided to appear in the room he had chosen for his puppy, to let Harry regain his composure and to speak privately before introducing him to the other members of the pack.

The room was decorated in neutral tones and he had tried to avoid the ostentatious and gothic-looking furniture, it was basic, but it had been designed with the way Lily had decorated her baby's room in mind, only adjusting some details to make it more comfortable for a twelve-year-old child than an infant.

The first thing that received them was an owl. A beautiful specimen of white feathers and intelligent eyes that was perched on one of the posts that held the curtains of the bed. They analyzed each other for a few moments before she tilted her head slightly to which Jason corresponded with the same movement and a small smile, remembering a similar encounter between Lily's familiar, a coppery cat, who when he finally understood that he did not represent a danger for his owner or for himself, the cat had allowed it to approach his owner and when he had more confidence he even got to fall asleep in Jason´s lap.

Lily always thought it was adorable, contrary to James who complained that it was unfair that the cat accepted a "fierce" predator and not a "sweet" deer like him. He had found it hilarious, but never show it in front of his Alfa.

The memory was bittersweet, like most of the memories he had of his pack. For the time he had shared with the Marauders had been one of the happiest of his life and for that reason it hurt him when he thought about it, because he knew they would not come back.

Carefully Jason deposited his cub on the floor, murmuring that he could open his eyes that they were already at home. Immediately the owl hooted and as an immediate reaction Harry turned his attention to her.

It was something that didn't surprised Jason. After all, the bond that unites wizard and it´s familiar is formidable, as well as special. He never had one, but he had the opportunity to observe several wizards and witches who had one, so he could understand it at a certain level.

That is why he let his little one caress the belly of his familiar when she settled on his shoulder a few moments without interrupting. Just seeing them whit curiosity, waiting patiently until he was sure he was not interrupting his cub "'Hedwig' is an unusual name for an owl, how did you choose it?" He asked with obvious curiosity.

His cub's cheeks turned red when he realized that he had been ignoring him, which in his opinion was quite funny.

"Yeah…I read it at Hogwarts: A story and I thought it had a nice ring..." he said obviously nervous.

"I think you guessed right, it definitely fits her." Jason comment with a small smile, and then he add. "Moving on to another topic, do you like your room, cub?"

His question made Harry look more closely at the room they were in, his eyes opening in evident surprise as he noticed all of his things on the bed, very much like the house elves accommodated the belongings of the students in the dormitories.

Narcissa had made Mibi, the elf-in-chief of Black Manor, move the things of their little one once the documents were in order and Harry became Jason adopted son and heir.

"This is mine?" Harry asked incredulously and shocked.

"Of course, I have decorated it similar to the style Lily used for her home, but if you like we can change it to match your liking" The Lord Black mention as he made a gesture to point at the walls. The beautiful emeralds opened at the sound of his words and he quickly denied, saying that the room was perfect.

Jason could see that the idea of having something from Lily made the room much better and he could not help but feel tenderness and sadness at that fact. Seeing that green look overflow with curiosity and shyness could not help but let out a laugh before replenishing the question that the child seemed to want to ask, but without finding the way to do it.

"I brought you here, because I know you have many questions and hopes to talk to you in private before introducing you to the rest of our family"

"Oh." Harry frowned in concentration and then nodded to himself. "It's okay. C-Can I ask anything?"

"Whatever you want, cub" Jason confirmed with confidence as he sat on the bed and signaled the child to sit next to him so that both would be more comfortable while they talked.

Harry followed his direction and sat next to him, although he kept a more or less safe distance between them, which hurt Antares, but he did not comment because he understood that it was going to take a while for his puppy to feel completely comfortable with him. .

For his part, Hedwig took off and landed on one of the bedposts, keeping her eyes on the wolf, watching him carefully. He did not seem to be a danger to her master, but she could not be sure and she certainly preferred to be ready to protect her owner if he needed it.

The young green-eyed wizard was silent for a couple of minutes, thinking about what he knew about Jason for what he had said.

He knew that Jason, Sirius Black and his father had been cousins, that the three of them had been friends with one another despite belonging to rival houses in Hogwarts. He also knew that when they were fifteen, he joined the marauders at night. full moon, that Jason considered the four members of that gang formed by his father his "pack" and that it was the same as saying that they had been his family; that at sixteen, he and Padfoot had been forced to flee from home and that they had ended up in the house of his paternal grandparents; that when their mother accepted her father, she also became part of the pack and that they had also been good friends.

He also knew that during the war his parents and (his uncle?) Sirius, along with Moony had been part of a group called "The Order of the Phoenix" that fought secretly to defeat the monster that snatched his parents' lives; I also knew that Jason had not been part of this group and that he had not fought in the war beyond a couple of times and only to protect Prongs, Padfoot and Whiskers (which was his mother's nickname) from the Death Eaters ; That when Regulus (Jason's adoptive brother) died in the war, Jason tried to convince his herd to flee out of the country, to accompany him to Bulgaria, but that he had been rejected by everyone, because the others believed it was their duty to fight.

That that foolishness was what had cost their parents' lives,

That the reason why Jason had not come for him before was because he thought he was being raised by Sirius –who apparently was his godfather– and Remus –who should be the latter's lover– having assumed that the lack of news it was because Sirius was still mad at him instead of something bad had happened.

He also knew that now that Jason had returned to England he was going to fix things. Between that, was grant Harry the love of a family -A father! Jason had said he was going to adopt him!- and rescue Sirius from jail and to prove his innocence since it was impossible that he had betrayed his parents, because Sirius had considered Prongs his brother in all but blood and would have preferred to die than to serve the Dark Lord.

However, knowing all this did not mean that he didn't have many doubts. So Harry armed himself with the courage for which his house was known and dared to ask what he was most curious about.

"How can I refer to you?" That was important in his opinion, because although they were relatives and related by blood, it felt strange – _wrong_ – to call him "Uncle" because he personally associated the term with something bad, because it was the term he used to refer to the Durleys and Jason was nothing like them. Similarly, calling him "Father" or any similar term did not feel quite right either, even though it was technically correct.

"Oh, well ... James, Prongs, is your father and always will be. I do not intend to take his place, but I plan to take care of you and love you as if you were mine, because you are the only puppy that was born in our pack. So I would like if you could call me ´Hati´"

"Eh? Is not that your Marauder's nickname?"

"That's right, cub. But for us, those nicknames meant a lot more than just alternate names, it was a sign of union, of brotherhood, they represented who we really were because they connect with the other part of our being –in case of Moony and mine, our inner wolf, and in the others' animal counterpart– but mainly because it was the proof of our bond...That's why I think it's appropriate that you call me that way, because you're the only cub that was born from that pack, from our pack," Jason explained, felling a little sad and nostalgic.

"Ah, is that why you call me 'cub'?" Harry asked interested and curious.

"Exactly, little one." Jason gave him a big smile.

"I understand ...Am, I know Sirius ... ah, Padfoot, is in Azkaban and because of that he could not take care of me, but you mentioned that Remus was his partner and that if my godfather had not been impressed, they would be raising me together ... Why did not he go rescue me?"

Jason could not help the growl that came from his lips and his eyes turning golden, looking fierce and animalistic, for a couple of instants. However, Harry did not feel intimidated because the magic inside told him that he was not in danger.

Antares closed his eyes in a moment before sighing and answering, already looking with his gray gaze at his little one, before telling him with a calm, but cold tone.

"Probably because he's a Lycanthrope, they do not have the same rights as us wizards, only, I could never have got custody, although I cannot understand why he did not send me an owl at any point in these long years ... I can only assume that the loss was too much for him and he believed in Dumbledore's words when he said that you would be fine at those Muggles' house. "

"Professor Dumbledore put me in the Dursley house?" Shock and hurt went through the expression of the youngest.

"Yes"

"B-But…Why? I mean, we don't have a big family? Why would I wear the Dusl ... the Muggles?"

"Ah, the old Headmaster always had a prejudice against us, the Blacks, he probably would not want you to be dyed with our darkness and he preferred to ignore the fact that he had no right to place you with a Muggle family when you had magical relatives who would had been happy to take you as if you were his, including myself"

"That's…"

"A cruel and despicable act." Jason stated firmly, leaving no room for doubt. For that was what it was, to leave a child with people that anyone who had known Lily could have said that they hated magic and were the worst option to leave an heir to an Ancient and Noble House it was despicable and cruel because it would only end in horrible experience for the child.

Even if Harry did not have Black blood from his maternal grandmother, putting him in to take care of Muggles was irresponsible and practically illegal, since if Harry's custody had been taken to the Wizengamot, it would never have happened, since there were many families that they had adopted the heir to the House of the Potters as if he were their own before letting him move to live with a family that could not guarantee that the heir would be able to fulfill his duty once he reached the age of taking his title as Lord.

But it was much more despicable when you felt that the Director knew that Jason had a blood connection with Harry and that Jason would love and take care of James and Lily's child as if it were his.

"Harry, your parents, along with the rest of our pack, trusted Dumbledore, they had him as a saint, as the man who knew everything and always had the best plan. I never believed that, but neither did I have him in bad light, I just felt that Dumbledore was not a man to whom I would entrust the safety of my loved ones, which caused us to have many disputes, in addition to our different views in politics ... but that is another story. I´m not going to said you what to think about the Headmaster as it would be wrong. But I do want you to think for yourself about your actions and analyze them to see if Dumbledore is worthy of your trust, just that. Ok, cub?" He added with a loving and fatherly tone, while stroking the minor's hair.

Jason had loved his parents (Orion and Walburga), but he would never take up their method of education because it had caused grief and pain in his mate and his adoptive brother. He would never impose his way of seeing the world into his son, but would let him live his life as he wanted and would limit himself to give him support and affection.

Harry seemed to think his words and nodded seriously. To which Jason smiled sweetly.

"Well, cub, if you do not mind, I would like us to go down when we receive the rest of the family."

"Oh, that's fine...Hati"

Antares could not help the huge smile that fell on his lips when he heard the nickname, it had been almost twelve years since he last heard it and brought back many memories. They both got up from the bed and left the room, leaving Hedwig in it, and headed towards the hall where the Malfoy´s and the Tonks were waiting.

 **OoOoOoO**

Narcissa was trying to fix her son, while Andromeda did the same with her daughter. Both women tried to make their children as presentable as possible by the time Antares came down with Harry to introduce his heir to the other members of the Black family –Lucius and Theodore were there because they were family by contract, but their opinions they did not really count in the family nucleus and the sisters knew perfectly well that Jason only let them be in the house because they were the parents of their nephews.

The magic in their veins alerted them that their Lord and his heir were entering the hall, going down the stairs.

Narcissa placed her hands on her son's shoulders and placed him in front of her, in a movement that showed how proud she was of her child and at the same time it was a threatening act because it projected an aura similar to a lioness protecting her cub.

Her sister had imitated her position, but she was much more relaxed because the heir of their family had no problem with her daughter.

Jason had not bothered himself to make Harry change his clothes or fix them to make him look more or less respectable, which was annoying, but understandable since the boy had grown up with Muggles and did not have proper clothes or manners like any other heir of a great House (Thing she knew Jason would fix in the rest of the summer).

When they placed themselves in front of them, Narcissa could see that Harry was staring at his son, causing him to stir uncomfortably at the attention. Although the beautiful woman with blond hair was satisfied to see that the green eyes of the child were not stained with hate or resentment, but with curiosity and a little discomfort.

"Members of the Black House, it is an honor to introduce you to my son and heir Harrison James Black." Said their Lord with evident pride in his tone of voice, to which they responded with a bow, making it clear that they understood Harry's new status within the family structure.

"Cub, let me introduce you again to my cousin Narcissa Malfoy, née Black, this is her husband Lucius and her son, whom you already know, Draco" commented her cousin as he pointed them to each of them, to emphasize his words.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aunt, Uncle. A pleasure to see you again, Draco," the young raven answered politely, extending his hand in an invitation when he addressed her son.

"Same thing, Harry." Replied her son while shaking the hand of other boy.

It was in that moment when both, she and Antares smiled, a dark smile, he same smile they had carried when they realized that the Harmony had made them able to coexist without trying to kill each other.

Harmony was a powerful magic and if it could erase their feelings of resentment and hatred, he could certainly allow their children to forget their little and stupid fights and allow them to start a new relationship; a relationship of cousins and with some luck friends.

"This beautiful lady is Andromeda, her husband Ted and her daughter Nymphadora, she also goes to Hogwarts, it's Hufflepuff, although this is her fifth year." Jason introduced the other members of their pack to his son.

"A pleasure to meet you." The boy smiled a little more at the more emotive part of his new family, making Narcissa sigh with exasperation.

The greetings between their families were different for obvious reasons, but Jason was pleased with the result. Which, in turn, made the sisters happy, because it meant that things were going to be able to follow their course and all of them would all be satisfied at the end of the day.

 **OoOoOoO**

Jason watched with a smile as his cub interacted with his cousins once the meal was over. He was feeling pleased to see that the three were understanding and were beginning to forge a friendship as the three of them seemed to have a great love for Quidditch and were commenting on how good their little one was as a seeker –It was not surprising for him that Minerva had made him a seeker even though he had eleven if he had inherited James' talent for flying– and as Draco hoped to apply for the same position this year, and as Nymphadora would have loved to play, but it was very uncoordinated to do so.

"My Lord" his cousin, who was sitting on his left side, called him and bowed slightly so he could hear her, even without turning her gray eyes from the children sitting on the floor in the middle of the room where everyone was resting and chatting .

"Cissy" He greeted.

"My husband got some information that might make you happy" She informed with a sing song tone. That caught his attention, so he proceeded to look away and connect his eyes with those of his relative who wore a smile worthy of the house of snakes when she passed a paper with address written in it. He raised his right eyebrow in question and she laughed.

"It's the address of Lupin. I know that even with everything that happened, it's still someone important to you, that's why I told Lucius to look for you, go look for him, I'll make sure that the cubs ate dinner at the right time and go to bed at an appropriate time if you return at late hours"

Jason cursed in his mind and gave her cousin a bad look. He really detested when his cousin forced him to do things like that. The only good thing was that at least now Cissy no longer had Regulus help to convince him to do this kind of nonsense.

Reluctantly he took the paper and sat up, going to where his child was so he could tell her that he was going to be away for a while because he was going to look for Remus. Harry was enthusiastic about the idea and told him that he wish he could bring him home, since Moony was part of the pack and without him, the family was not complete.

That comment caused a complicated reaction in him, because on the one hand he was really happy to see that his puppy, like most of the family, had begun to use his speech style. And on the other hand, it did not make him so happy to have to go talk to Moony, because he had unresolved issues with the other wolf and was not sure if he could see him face to face without bewitching or punch him in the face.

However, both Narcissa and Harry were right.

No matter what happened between them, Remus Lupine, he was still part of his pack and would always be an important person to him.

He kissed his cub on the forehead and headed to the exit of the room, then proceeded to appear as close as he could to the address written on the paper that his cousin had given him.

When his feet touched the ground again, he was in front of a cabin near a forest. It was a home-like place. Immediately he knew that he was in the right place because the cottage had that characteristic essence that mixed books, chocolate and the scent of another wolf, that he had always associated with Moony.

He let out a sigh and composed himself, before walking to the entrance of the cabin and knocked on the door. He wait a couple of minutes while the owner of the place came to answer the door, when the door finally opened, he found the face of his pack brother. Only that he appeared to be much older than he actually was, had more scars on his face, more gray hair and the odd wrinkle; but on the other hand, his friend had that ungainly complexion that characterized him so much.

"Hati ..."

"Hello, Moony"


	7. Chapter 6

**Ties**

Remus did not expect to see Jason Stark –now, Black– at his door. That is, he had heard the rumors of his return and his rise to the title of Lord of _that_ family, but never imagined that his former friend was interested in him when it had been obvious that Jason no longer care about the pack when he moved to Bulgaria.

So yes, the sight of him standing on his porch was a surprise and he could only say the alien nickname showing his stupor.

To which the other wolf just responded with a brief "Moony" that only served to make him feel sick as the sad memories that brought with him and shrink because it brought that connotation of " _I find your talk boring and pathetic, so it will be better than correct your actions or I will make you regret having wasted my time_ ", the same one he had been accustomed to hear from his three pureblood friends –not addressed to him, never did he or Peter– when they were teenagers. So Remus quickly invited Jason to enter into his cabin and offered him a cup of tea, which was accepted and so he get to the kitchen and actually took the time it took to prepare it to calm his growing panic at the presence of the dark-haired man in his house.

Remus had always found Antares intimidating, even though the character of the other boy was rather calm and somewhat soft, contrasting with the personalities of his cousins (Sirius and James) even though he shared his sense of humor. This was because, his inner wolf allowed him to feel on a much more personal level the essence of "Alpha" or "Leader" that was natural for Jason.

Which made his own nature of "Beta" susceptible to the presence of the other wolf.

And now, that feeling had multiplied, because contrary to when they were teenagers, Jason had stopped hiding himself and had (finally!) accepted who he was, _what_ he was.

"Ah…Lord Black? What do I own this visit?" he asked nervously once he found himself sitting in front of Jason. He tried to be polite, but it felt strange to address the other man with a different name than the nickname he had acquired within the Marauders.

He flinch when Jason raised one of his eyebrows in question and threw a not very subtle dark look at the polite but distant form that he had used at talking to him. Remus could understand why the other wizard was irritated, tough. Since among the marauders to be called by something other than their nicknames was similar to an insult and seeing the expression of the other wolf, Remus quickly corrected himself.

"Sorry. Uh, I mean…Hati, Why are you here?"

"Can I not visit a member of my pack, Moony?"

The question made him make a face because while they never said anything about stopping being pack, having past almost eleven years apart and taking into account everything that had happened, to say that Remus was not sure to consider Jason part of his pack was to be short, since for him all of his pack had died that terrible day; in a way or another.

 **OoOoOoO**

His question was met by a heavy silence and a bad look, so Jason sighed and resisted the urge to rub his temples. Why the hell was talking so hard with Moony? Ah, yes, probably was because they always had had a complicated relationship, this because although they were similar in essence they could not be more different at the end and of course, the other had something they wanted with fervor, even if this was more something subconscious on Remus' part.

Jason had wanted the possibility of being special to Sirius. That Padfoot returned his feelings and have a happy ending. Instead, Moony craved control over his wolfish part. He longed for the freedom of being born Direwolf instead of having been infected and having contracted lycanthropy

And obviously it hadn't help that the last time they met face to face, Jason had been rather rough and aloof. Giving Moony a rabid look that made Sirius growl at him and take a defensive stance in front of the blond, which only made his anger increase and made him decided to ignore them both to concentrate on saying goodbye to the rest of the pack.

That had been the last time he had seen them all together.

He remembered hugging Wormtail and mess whit his hair affectionately; he remembered having embrace Lily and after that making her promise that she would take care of all the idiots –And he had said it in the most affectionate way possible– that made up the pack, after that he had embraced James in a hug before kissing his cheek in an act of respect and appreciation, after all, at that time Prongs had been "Alpha" the undisputed leader of the marauders.

"Listen, Moony." He started with a tone between resigned and tired, but tinted with seriousness. "I know we do not say goodbye in the best conditions, but that does not mean I don't worry about you. You're part of my pack, you always were and you always will be."

"You have a very special way of showing it." Argument Remus, his eyes shining golden with emotion behind his words. Anger and resentment evident in his voice. "You left! You give us up! You abandoned the pack!"

"I didn't leave you! You were the ones who decided to stay and fight for Dumbledore as his personal army!" he responded with intensity Lord Black while responding to the challenge of other wolf, leaning slightly forward and flashing his eyes to gold, to then expose his teeth.

Wolves are creatures that act by instinct. And unfortunately the aggression as a sign of power and dominance was something natural for both of them. That's why Jason had not been able to avoid reacting heatedly to the words of the other man. After all _, He was Alpha_ and there was no way he was going to let Remus dare to imply that he forgot about his pack.

"You decided to stay and fight a war that was not yours. All of you decided to fight for the light and all those idiocies. You were the ones that decided to put others before the pack and that's why James, Lily and Peter are dead! That's why _my mate_ is rotting in Azkaban! Do not dare to imply that what happened was my fault, Omega!" Each word is fraught with pain, but they also contained deep anger. In those moments Jason exposed everything that made him suffer, everything that had happened to the Marauders, but he avoided mentioning his cub, because at the moment Harry was a Black family secret and although Remus was part of his old pack, he was not part of the current one.

And Jason was not just Hati anymore. Now, he was Lord Black and had a whole family to think about; although that did not mean that Remus was not important to him.

He saw with some satisfaction the shock of the other man as he hear the word he had use to refer to him, taking a vindictive pleasure to see him turn pale and open and close his mouth to be speechless, understanding perfectly why.

The relations and ranks among the Marauders had been a point of discussion during the first year of the conformation of the pack, because two of its members were wolves and had a much closed mentality of what meant pack. And for the other Animagi, even with their animal forms, it was difficult to see things in that mentality. It had cost them a lot of work, but in the end they could achieve an agreement on what rank each of them occupied:

 _Alpha_ was a leader, which without a doubt had been James; and Lily when she joined them. Both formed a strong and well-balanced Alfas couple.

 _Delta_ meant second in command; which meant Sirius, who was not exactly a follower, but at the same time didn't have the abilities to be able to lead them because of his personality. Since he was not responsible enough to be able to take care of them the way James did, since from time to time he also needed to be taken care of and have someone to see for him.

 _Beta_ were followers; Remus, Peter and himself. In his case it was a decision, more than anything else, since he did not want to challenge James for the right to be Alpha and was satisfied with simply following his cousin guidance. On the other hand, with Moony and Wormtail, it was an entire different matter as it had to do more with his personality and with the fact that they had huge complexes that prevented them from trying and accepting themselves entirely.

 _Omega_ was an insult; It was the lowest of the low. A moderately educated way of saying _The bitch._ It was a term that had only been used on one occasion, since everyone was aware of the consequences of being labeled as one.

It meant being excluded from the pack, being treated like scum and trash; it meant losing the liberties that your rank contained. It was not a pleasant experience. It was something terrible to presence, because once the Alpha dictates that someone was a Omega there didn't exist a going back and the other members of the pack were forced to abide by the decision.

James used it as punishment, as the worst punishment. The punishment for those who committed treason and endangered the others members. It had only been used on Sirius, after the incident with Snape, when the Slytherin was about to lose his life and discovered their secret; Remus secret.

It had been about five months of hell for everyone, but they had understood why Prongs was forced to exercise punishment even though Sirius was not entirely to blame for what had happened. Oh do not misunderstand, Jason was not blinded for his love at the dog animagus as he saw Padfoot as he was: An arrogant young man who would do anything to prove that he was not like the rest of the Blacks; someone impulsive and aggressive, but he also knew that Sirius had a big heart and firmly believed in helping others.

That why Hati knew that while Sirius comment about the secret passage had malice against Severus, he did not really expect the Slytherin to be stupid enough to dare try to sneak in full moon and that he had been genuinely terrified of what would have happened if James and Jason hadn't save Snape's life that night.

Padfoot had been devastated when he thought about the consequences that the incident might have had.

For the pack.

For Remus

The affection of his mate had for Moony had never been a secret. As it was as obvious as the worship he felt for Sirius, so it really wasn't a surprise to learn months after graduation that they were together.

However, that did not mean that it had hurt less.

Even with all this, Hati´s intention was not to punish or take revenge on Remus, only to force him to listen. As he had expressed before, Moony had been, was and always would be important to him, because he was his brother in everything but blood. It was pack. And now that Jason was Alpha it was his duty to ensure that he was happy and safe.

"You're going to close your mouth, you'll hear what I have to say, and you'll answer only if I ask you a question." easy and concise orders, as he wanted them to be very simple to Remus to follow them. After a long moment analyzing the figure of the other wolf, he allowed himself to relax his position when he saw that the other had decided to obey his demands. Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment, organizing his thoughts before speaking.

"I came here to offer you a place in the Black family, Moony. The Blacks are my pack and I plan to make our name go back to its former glory, I plan to change things around here. I'm going to make sure that the cubs have a carefree and bright future where they can be happy. I am also going to rescue Sirius from Azkaban and to destroy anyone who has had to do with that imprisonment." His voice was serious and in his eyes there was a sadistic glow that put a macabre perspective, because it assured that he intended to comply with what he had said.

" Now, you and I know that Sirius would be unable to betray Prongs and Whiskers, that there must be a logical explanation for what happened that night other than the stupidity I've been hearing since I returned: ´Sirius Black was an undercover Death Eater´, ´The Second in Command of the Dark Lord´, ´A murderer in cold blood´ Because come on! Padfoot hates the Dark Arts so much that he would rather take his own life than use them and his reluctance to surname Black guarantees that he will do everything contrary to what our parents wanted, which means cero services to the bald, red-eyed bastard. And why in hell would he serve the man who murdered Regulus?" While exposing him point Jason´s aura went from being dangerous to remembering the one of an exhausted father who had been arguing with his little one about something meaningless.

This because in his eyes what he was saying was so obvious that he could not believe that the English were really stupid enough to believe the string of nonsense that was said of his mate.

After all, Sirius had never been subtle with his hatred/resentment against certain traits that the Black family and the Slytherin's held in high esteem, as well as his absolute disgust about the Dark Arts –which actually had always caused problems between them as it was Antares favorite subject– and his anger and repugnance about the fact that Regulus had let himself be marked as won by Voldemort.

Not that that particular point had not been a matter that failed to hit Jason close to home because when he found out that Bellatrix had convinced Reg to join the Death Eaters and that Mother had allow him do it, well, he was very tempted to go and murdered both witches and incidentally curse his little brother until sanity returned to his head, but the news came when they were all together (and with some members of the Order) so James forbade him to go and do just that.

Looking back, he should have disobeyed him and followed his instincts. Maybe that would have changed things for better…maybe not, he would never knew now because it was impossible to change the past and his little king had been dead for more than a decade.

"So I want you to tell me everything you know about that night," he continued, returning to his serious business tone.

He had heard the rumors from his cousins, of course. But it was obvious that there was something wrong. The story that he was told did not make sense.

Oh, he did not doubt that Sirius would had been able to cause the death of Peter and twelve Muggles if he had wanted to, after all, his mate was a powerful wizard and although he never used them, his knowledge of dangerous and obscure curses was not poor. After all, he had been raised in the Black family and Jason was an avid researcher, and he always had share his theoretical knowledge with the other members of his pack and they listened without feeling horrified the majority of the times, because it was a part of what he was, of whom he was and his pack had always accepted him without reservation.

Overlooking the obvious problem of alleged betrayal. Why would Peter go against Sirius? Peter never had been a good duelist; he also had neither the power nor the control to face a well-trained Auror as his partner was. In addition, Wormtail despite being a Gryffindor did not have a great courage and Jason could not see him act like an avenging angel and charge idiotically without first thinking of an escape plan.

So, in case that Peter truly believed to Sirius be the traitor. Why go alone? Why not contact Moony, Jason or a strong member of the Order of the Phoenix? Why get in the front line when he knew Sirius was stronger than him?

Antares knew something was wrong, but he could not understand that as he had not been there that night and for that reason the only thing he could do was listen to the stories of people who did not know Padfoot as he and Moony did.

That is why he wanted to know from his pack brother what he knew. And if Jason tried to find out why being together Remus let Sirius be dragged to Azkaban, well, that was an entirely different matter.

 **OoOoOoO**

Omega…

Omega…

Remus listened to the echo in his mind and could not be more affected, his feelings varied from horror to anger, going through sadness and rebellion, to end up becoming resignation. The golden glow disappeared from his eyes and he bowed his head submissively.

Jason was Alpha.

His Alpha

And no matter how much he fought against it or it hurt to accept it, _Prongs was gone_ and Antares was the _only one_ who could take his place as leader of the pack. It hurt, but at the same time he could not be more relieved, he had spent almost twelve years in solitude and that for him was his own personal hell, and he was really relieved that Jason's presence in his life would mean that it was over.

Even with his current position. And even when the anger came back to hear that he was going to do everything possible to get Sirius out of Azkaban –And Remus did not doubt even for a second that Jason could do it with all his influences and both political and magical power– but the resentment he felt for his ex- lover happened to be insignificant when his Alpha mentioned destroying the people responsible for Padfoot´s incarceration.

Remus knew that look and that tone, Hati had used them before going to rescue Prongs and Sirius when they were caught on a mission by the Carrow twins. He had gone alone, refusing to accept the help of the members of the Order and even threatening Dumbledore so that the Headmaster would stop insisting on sending someone with him arguing that taking company would only slow him down and hinder his path.

Jason had managed to free them and send them home with a Portkey. James and Sirius had returned alone, making the pack's concern go to the sky, but Prongs had been sure Hati was fine and would be home soon. Two hours later it was seen that James had been right.

Antares had returned with his clothes somewhat torn and powdered, with a cut on the cheek, but no injuries other than that. His eyes shone with satisfaction and proud announcement that the Carrow brothers would not be a problem again.

He had forgotten how terrifying Jason could become and paled at the tough of an angry Hati running free in England, as _that_ part of Hati was something that he would have been glad not to see again. The only fortunate thing about the situation was that it was not aimed at his person.

However, the next thing he said made him cringe and brought treacherous thoughts, because yes, Hati was right. He knew all that. But on the other hand, a cruel and dark voice whispered in his mind that Sirius was guilty. That he had witnessed as Dumbledore performed the _Fidelius Charm_. And that Sirius was the only one who could have betrayed James and Lily, since only he knew the secret and was in a position to give it.

Even so, he decide to obey his instincts and follow the order his Alpha had given him.

It was painful to remember how he had learned what had happened, for he had learned what had happened at dawn the next day courtesy of Professor Mcgonagall, when it was too late to do anything but cry at his loss.

"By then, the war was at an all-time high, the number of deaths was increasing every week and there was much more discord within the pack since the Prongs and Whiskers went to hide and go to hide as the missions for the Order began to be secret because there was the suspicion that there was a traitor in our ranks." He started in a controlled voice. "My relationship with Sirius had cooled because half of my time was out, trying to agree with the northern herds to stop fighting in the company of the Not-To-Be-Named and Sirius was also absent a lot because of the missions, he never said where he was going or what he was doing. That night was the same…"

"We ate together, but then he left without saying anything ... I assumed he had a mission ... not that he would go ... to betray our pack "his last comment was said with great difficulty because it still hurt to think about what had happened." The next morning, Professor Mcgonagall informed me of what had happened, I knew that James and Lily were dead, that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been defeated, that Harry had been taken to Petunia's house and that Sirius had been imprisoned for the murder of Peter and twelve Muggles, that night my pack was destroyed and I could not do anything about it!" His eyes were full of tears and his voice wobbled.

That night he had lost everything. His world ended in a blink. An instant everything was fine, they were not exactly happy, but things were not so bad and they had hope that everything would get better, and the next everything was a nightmare; a nightmare he would not be able to wake up as it was real.

"At first I did not want to believe it," he admitted with a bitter smile. "But Professor Mcgonagall explained to me everything that had happened and I could only accept reality, James, Lily and Peter were gone, Sirius had betrayed us and that was why they had left ... that Harry would stay with Petunia…and that I could not do anything but resigned myself to be alone as the Ministry would never allow me had our cub"

 **OoOoOoO**

"I see," muttered Jason, seeing whit pity and concern at the sand-haired boy, for he could understand in a certain way the pain the other was feeling. Even if the blow he had felt when he heard about the Potters' deaths was much milder than having heard about everything else, he couldn't imagine how painful it had been for Moony to found himself alone once again.

"Do you happen to know the details of what happened between Peter and Sirius? My family does not have much information about it." He said with some frustration, remembering how her cousins had not been able to give her the details, because being members of the Black family were kept in the shadows about the events that led to the imprisonment and condemnation of Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius Black.

He could see Remus' reluctance to talk about it, but he ended nodding and beginning to relate what he knew about the incident.

"The official reports say that Sirius was fleeing after the death of Tu-Know-Who and Peter found him near Britxbock Street. Peter accused him loud enough for Muggles to hear. The Aurors say that he had probably lost control when he learned of the death of James and Lily, and that Sirius reacted violently, executed a spell that blew up the street, killed Wormtail and twelve Muggles. The destruction caught the attention of Aurors who were chasing Sirius' trail, when they found him laughing like crazy Among the remains of the streets destroyed"

"I understand ... Could you describe the scene to me, Moony? If I could find out what spell was used it would ease thing for Sirius"

"It was as if a bomb had exploded, only one finger remained from Peter, the little finger ..."

That information made him freeze in horror.

"What?" Jason murmured mostly to himself, still trying to made sense of the information he had. His reaction confused Moony, who looked at him disoriented and uncertain at his reaction. Quickly his mind analyzed what those words meant and he paled slightly at the terrible thing of what he had discovered.

"Sirius is a skilled duelist and knows many nefarious spells." Hati started to explain "He would not occupy his magic in that way, because what you say speaks of a loss of control or an explosion intended to destroy ... There is no spell that causes so much damage in the surroundings and much less there is a curse that only leaves a finger as proof of the existence of the person ... "With a tone that with each word became colder and more distant, but anger and fury raged inside him.

Remus let a fearful "Hati?" still confused and a little enervated for his Alpha reaction.

"Wormtail is alive" Antares stated in a cold and murderous tone.

"What? That's not ..." Moony try, but was interrupted by an very mad Antares.

"Think about it, Moony. Peter shouted in a Muggle town that Sirius was guilty, thus breaking the secret status. He then cut his own finger and caused an explosion, making sure that everyone thought Padfoot had killed him ... while he could get safe because it had an alternate shape that only the marauders knew, a rat, nobody would think to look for it that way ... Also, our pack was broken by then. You would not say anything about it, probably Sirius either and I wasn't close to be able to mention it." His argument was so logical that it made the lycanthrope pale several shades.

"We were right, there was a traitor in our ranks ... only it was not Sirius ... it was Peter ..." he said in a strangled whisper.

"And who better than Peter to be a double agent, Peter with his angel face, Peter with his innocuous aspect, Peter with his cowardice and his apparent inability to be a threat."

"That's ... no…Siri..." Remus understood the implications and was reduced to tears and a trembling form in a few seconds. Sirius was _innocent_ and had spent eleven years in Azkaban! He had let the man he loved spent more than a decade in hell!

Jason had always knew that Sirius was innocent, but the knowledge that Peter was responsible for his imprisonment and probably the death of Prongs and Whiskers, was a very strong blow. Wormtail was his brother, they were part of the same pack and he had _betrayed_ them.

Holding his own desire to mourn, to cry and scram, he rose from the chair and proceeded to approach Remus, surrounding his figure with his arms and pulling him in a tight hug. He could not afford to let the tears fall. Not now. As it was his duty as Alpha to be strong and to ensure that the members of his pack were well.

"Shh. Don't worry, Moony ... I'm going to fix things, everything's going to be fine. I´m going to take care of it. We're going to get Padfoot out of Azkaban and then we'll chase that traitor and once we finish with him, we'll be back home ... we'll be happy again, I promise. We'll be a strong pack again and I'll make sure everyone is safe, "he vowed with fierceness and determination shining in his eyes.

His magic covering Remus in the same way he had done with Harry in the morning, promising love and protection


	8. Chapter 7

**Welcome home, Moony.**

Jason let Remus give all his tears off in his arms as he stroked in a loving hair his hair, emulating the caresses he would do whit his muzzle of his wolf form, but fearing the transformation itself because although the change from one form to another became completely natural in his school years and the following three years, once he had returned to Bulgaria he had stopped doing it for periods to end in not doing it in its entirety.

After all, there was no longer a case of transformation because in that place, in the Stark mansion and in the surrounding land, he was alone, finding himself in the midst of a dance of hypocrisy and courtesies, forcing him to return to the habits that Walburga and Orion they had imposed during most of their childhood; which meant to act like a wizard and to put aside his animal part or at least prevent it from affecting his behavior.

Since he had returned to England his instincts had been surfacing with a naturally that concern him because his self-control seemed to have evaporated, although it could well be that now he was Alpha and it sure didn't help to know that his pack was at risk, because there was an enemy that was threatening two members of it.

"Alright, Moony" The dark man let out a sigh when the tears finally stopped. "Leaving aside this unfortunate discovery, I have a news that will please you, my beta. Would you be interested to move into my house and be able to see our cub?"

"Cub? Harry?" Asked a very confused Remus, separating from the chest of his Alpha to see the face of Antares. Then, he proceeded to ignore his _little episode_ to concentrate on what the other man was saying, a part of him rejoicing at hearing the words of forgiveness of the black-haired man and recovering his previous rank.

"I rescued Harry from the Muggles he was living whit and then I took him as mine. Harrison is my son legally, Petunia gave me custody this morning…I came to invite you to go with me back to the Mansion so you can meet him and join us}2 Explained Antares.

"Rescue?" Remus asked with a dangerous tone that would had made a leaser man shiver as Moony was the calmer member of the Marauders, but as well one of the more dangerous members of the pack when angered. Jason mused that it had to do whit his inner wolf and how much the amber eyed man forced himself to shut his instincts.

"Am…yeah. Petunia and her husband abused our cub from day one" Jason murmured in a dark tone that said he was still pretty mad and still wanted to go and use one or two Black curses in the Muggles to made them paid for all the pain they had caused to his son, at the same time he give the confirmation of Moony fears.

" _What?!"_ Remus grunted, his voice taking an echo that showed that he and Moony were in sync, his light brown eyes turned golden and his features sharpened, looking much wilder.

" It doesn't matter anymore. Narcissa and I already take care of the matter" He informed to calm Remus a little "Harry is safe within the core of the pack." He stated in a firm tone, watching how the gold in the other eyes disappeared and his face returned to being normal. Moony was more content now that he had assured that the Muggles were already dealed whit.

"Will you come with me?" Antares asked in a brighter and hopeful tone.

"Yes" There was no doubt and so Jason let himself relax and allow a big smile broke trought his lips.

"Excellent" Antares almost purred as he took Remus hand "One, two…"

Three.

In a blink Jason transported them to the entrance of his property. They would see the issue of the move after Remus spent a moment with their cub and met the other members of the pack. Jason, despite being a full-fledged Slytherin, had always found it difficult not to get carried away with the flow when he was with the other Marauders as it was easier to move on without a well-thought-out plan most of the time.

So, although it was clear that they should have discussed the point for more time and detail, Jason wanted to take Remus to the Manor, let him reconnect with Harry and make sure he was home, _safe_.

Jason had already insisted that his family's houses be connected to his Red Flu, for his peace of mind, considering that despite what he wanted it would not be natural for everyone to live in the same house despite the fact that the Mansion Black had adequate space to make this possible; because their cousins had their own homes and in no way could they stay to live in theirs, even if during the summer they would spend much of their time in it.

But making sure his pack was safe was a necessity. One, he actually wasn't found very endearing as it made him a little more controlling that was healthy and he actually respect the other, so he was still trying to found an equilibrium about it.

Stupid Prongs, he had made it look easy.

"Welcome to the Black State" he commented once they were standing on the porch of that house. The barriers immediately vibrated in the presence of an intruder, but calmed down when they noticed that Jason's magic did not oppose to the visit, cutting short the possible negative reaction and thus preventing Remus from being trapped by the terrible traps that Antares ancestors had created to protect their home from unwanted visits.

"Wow ..." Moony's face made Jason chuckle, although he could understand the reaction. The house was imposing, its architectural style was Gothic with some touches of Baroque, had a dark and dangerous air even though the colors used were neutral and well maintained.

The entire facade spoke of luxury and wealth. There was no doubt that the mansion belonged to one of the richest families in England.

"You know, it's easy to forget that both of you and Prongs grew up in places like this," murmured the blond still with evident stupefaction.

"Yes, well, unlike Prongs, Padfoot never liked luxuries and although Uncle Alphar left him a good money, he never really took it in. And you know that Whiskers never liked the extravagance that came with James' wealth so they moved into a more modest home when we finished Hogwarts" Jason answered with a small smile.

Moony and Worm… _Pettigrew_ had grown up in an ordinary family, not poor, but not rich. And although Prongs never ceased to entertain them with gifts and treat the money issues with disdain, in his last years he had settled down to live without so many luxuries because he appreciated much more the sentimental to the material. He was sure that Sirius had been the same. Both accommodating themselves to the tastes of their sentimental partners before forcing them to live with so much luxury that it made them feel uncomfortable.

He had done the same from the sixth year, although it was more because even if he had a complete wealth to his name, he preferred to spend on tools and ingredients to luxury clothes or high profile rooms.

"But you cannot say that it really surprises you. After all, we spent so much time in Potter Manor that it's a surprise that Dorea and Charleus did not insist that they had five children instead of one." Jason teased and Remus laughed.

"Oh, yes. Or that one of us would call them 'Mum" or 'Dad' by mistake," Remus added with a smile on his face as he recalled all the summer afternoons that passed in the Potters' house, sometimes staying to sleep while others went and returned home with their parents when it was evening.

Both young men exchanged a glance and they laughed as they remembered the same scene. It was easy –much easier than either of them had thought–to fall into old attitudes and regain the camaraderie they had for almost a decade.

"Are you ready?" Jason asked once the laughter stopped. His eyes veiled by curiosity and slight concern.

"As smart as I could be," replied Moony whit a nervous smile, but determination shining in his amber eyes.

To which the raven one nodded and opened the doors, allowing him entry, guiding him to the room where the little ones were still playing under the attentive looks of their relatives. Jason knew that seeing his cub would be an emotional blow to Remus, as the werewolf had been virtually forced to get away from the little one by Dumbledore and his manipulations. But being able to reconnect was something necessary, for both of them.

He leaved Remus behind him, before opening the door of the room and meeting the eyes of his cousins who smirked at him when they saw him. Jason was very tempted to stick their tongues out, but that would be very immature so he just rolled his eyes.

"Cub, come here for a moment, please. I want to introduce you to someone," he said loud enough to be heard for the twelve year old as he signaled for her to come closer. Smiling lovingly to see him say goodbye to his cousins and approach with subtly hesitant steps to the door, but his green eyes –so similar to those of Lily– shining with curiosity.

Antares placed one of his hands on his son shoulder as a sign of support. Twisting him slightly so that he was face to face with the man rubbing his hands nervously, which was so Remus that Jason wanted to zap him in the head for the number of times he had acted that way in the first two years of Hogwarts, once they were out in the corridor.

"Harry, this is Remus Lupine, aka Moony," he introduced them.

"Hi," Moony said softly as he waved his hand.

"Hi," Harry returned with the same tone. Only he nervously rubs his right foot against his left calf.

 _Oh, for Merlin_ Jason thought as he hold back the urge to snarl in frustration at the poor attempt to open the conversation. It was something he could not avoid, because all the Blacks had that impulsiveness that made them want to get to the point as soon as possible.

Of course, they knew how to keep long, boring and hypocritical talks, but that did not mean they liked them. The Blacks were strength and power, and they showed it with every step they took, every action, every word, and every look. And this _, this_ , was so ridiculous that it made him want to cry.

Harry, he could understood it. The way his cub had been grow up in an abusive environment, where he had been crushed by people who called themselves his family, made him that way and would take some timefor him to get better.

But Moony...

Moony had grown up with them. He had come out of his pessimism by the time they were thirteen when it was evident that they not only did he accept him as he was, but they were going to do everything possible to help him and that they would never abandon him. I mean, Moony may have always retained that aura of taciturnity and innocence around him, but it was in his own interest, as this helped the teachers to always overlook him when they sought guilty of the last joke they had made.

Seriously, the other four had many attitudes worthy of any Slytherin, but the idiocy and bravado inherent in all the acts they carried out ruined the effect. Silly Gryffindor's

Now, that he returned to act as the scared child who feared being rejected was a bit irritating to Antares because it was as if they had backed down and all the work and effort to get him out of his armor would have been in vain. And that he had more things to take care of.

Wonderful, simply wonderful.

"Ok, that was horrible, let's try it one more time, okay?" Lord Black insisted. "Moony, Harry is not going to bite you. Harry, dear, Moony is not going to eat your homework, okay? There's nothing to be afraid of."

Moony gave him a bad look at his choice of words. However, his lips trembled for a moment. Leaving evidence that he had thought that the joke was funny, which was a gain for Jason because it allowed the werewolf to relax, even it was just a little.

Harry on the other hand seemed confused and somewhat embarrassed when he quickly shook his head, as if to say that he had not thought of that at any time.

"I'm not Padfoot, I _don't_ eat homework." Remus responded with mock offense. Before turning his gaze to the smallest of the three. "I'm happy to see you again, Harry, you've grown a lot." He said in a fond voice.

Harry blinked a couple of times, as if to sort out his ideas. Before saying seriously. "I'm also glad to see you again, Moony."

Oh, if Jason said those words did not hit his soul he would be lying. And for the way the shine disappeared from Remus' eyes, the same thing happened to him. Guilt. They blame his own inability to do something before, blame their blindness, their inability to get out of the mourning stage and concentrate on what was important, their little one, their cub.

It may had been different for each one of them, but the truth was that they had failed Harry.

"The past on the past." The owner of the house said sternly in French to his friend to comfort him "What remains is to see the future, as we are a family, pack"

 **OoOoOoO**

Jason had let Remus and Harry talk on their own, in their own privacy bubble in his heir's room. Returning to meet with his other family members, engaging in the conversation naturally, finding the interaction of Draco and Nymphadora very funny, now that Harry was no longer in the equation. It was just adorable to watch the cubs play.

However, a part of his mind kept thinking about Peter.

Brother.

Enemy.

Traitor.

He didn't know how he should feel. Peter had been someone who had always wanted to protect, had always fallen into the definition of someone who he should watch for. It was strange to think of him as a target, as something alien to his pack, as something that needed to be eliminated.

How should he deal with it?

There must be some way to force Pettigrew out of hiding, to expose him, without having to go hunting him. He was sure. But he could not remember if there was a ritual that met the specifications he wanted...

It was at times like this that he cursed his little interest in past rituals and his focus on the magic part in the form of spells and potions. He blamed his mother for that, he had seen the consequent of abusing of that kind of rituals and decided that it didn't worth it.

Oh, well. Truth was that he only had one option if he wanted to do this quickly, because it looking into the Family Library –which was the net of knowledge portrayed in all the libraries that had the properties that belonged to them by right to the Blacks– for the knowledge he wanted would make him lose days, weeks or months. And that was something he couldn't afford.

The decision was not difficult to make, mainly because there was no choice. However, that did not mean that he had to like the idea.

Returning to Grimmauld Place meant seeing his parents again – even if it was in a posthumous paint– and that, was not going to be a pleasant experience. It was simply impossible for him to be happy for seeing them again, especially, because he murdered one and disappointed the other.

He shivered.

Yes, that reunion was going to be horrible. The only good thing is that the portraits cannot curse you...

 **OoOoOoO**

When Remus had the decency to return his puppy it was dinner time. Jason introduced Remus to the rest of the pack, pretending not to notice the way Lucius and his Beta looked at each other before Moony showed him his teeth and Lucius looked away with a snort of irritation, or the look surprised of the children when seeing the change of the tonality of their eyes and the murmurs of "Just like the Lord" and "It's great".

They dined in a fragile peace that everyone appreciated

After dinner, they exchanged farewells before his cousins took their families and left for their respective homes. Jason took Harry to his room, while he let Moony explore the house and find a room he liked.

Curious, no?, Wolves are very fussy in terms of changing territory was concerned. And he better than anyone else understood, so he let Moony be.

"Would you tell me a story?" Asked timidly his son, his eyes full of hope. Once he was in his new pajamas and appropriately tucked under the navy blue cover.

"A story?" Harry´s question had pulled Jason out of his comfort zone for a few seconds, before he blinked and smiled." Of course, little one"

It had been a little disconcerting considering that his parents did not usually tell him stories to sleep on. And if he knew the children's stories was because he had read them to Regulus countless times when he was still very small.

"Okay, have you ever heard the story of the three brothers? No, well it starts like this: There were once three brothers who were traveling on a road ..."

 **OoOoOoO**

By the time the story was over, Harry had already fallen asleep. The magic in his voice had lulled him. With a fatherly smile Jason leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead, over his scar, before getting up and leaving the room.

He followed his nose until he found his pack brother was sitting in an armchair by the fire.

"Did you find any room that you liked?" he asked as he leaned over and pressed their bodies, barely touching one of the alien flanks with his arm. Not exactly sitting on the couch, but almost. All of them had been very tactile people when they were students, for that reason, for many years there was a rumor that they were all together in a kind of love quintet.

It was an animal thing, he thought. The necessity of touch and to cover in affection the other members of the pack. They had done all the time, but especially when one of them was hurt. They mostly did whit Moony after a full moon.

"Yeah, but ... I cannot sleep" admitted the blond with a somber expression.

Jason doesn't need to hear the words to understand.

Peter, Sirius, Harry.

It was natural. He also didn't want to go to sleep with all those ideas in his mind because he did not want to create new nightmares. So he simply made an appreciative sound with his throat and pushed the other one to be able to sit more appropriately on the couch

"Lau, I want hot tea and biscuits" he said loudly and a moment later one of his house elves brought what he had requested, depositing it on the little table that was a few steps away and within his reach.

"Friday night?" The werewolf asked amused, releasing an incredulous laugh.

"Yep" Replied the dark-haired man with a foxlike grin before transforming himself and leaning on the other, resting his head between the curvature of the other's neck.

"Ho! You have become heavier Hati, could not you leave the sweets?" Moony teased Jason, trying to accommodate the huge greyish wolf that was semi-sitting on his person to a more comfortable position for both of them.

Hati growled playfully at him, the sound rumbling in his chest, tickling him.

"Oh, shut up," Remus said playfully before going for tea and the biscuits, caressing the other's muzzle distractedly at the same time.

What they were doing was custom among the Marauders. Although in the past, it had been four animals that surrounded Remus after the night of the full moon or when his spirits were low. For Hati not to be a Gryffindor, he spent much more time in their bedroom than in his, much to the annoyance of Regulus who many times had to go all the way of the dungeons to the tower just to be able to talk to his older brother (Because, Regulus never talked to Sirius and Sirius pretty much ignored Regulus, even if Jason loved both of them and tried to divide his time to be able to be whit the pack and his little brother)

But, for now was enough whit just the two of them.

They could wait some more to recuperate the missing piece of their pack as soon enough Padfoot would be free of Azkaban and be able to join them, Hati was going to made sure of it, he had promised and Remus believe him.

* * *

 **Hello there, thank you for the reviws!**

 **Delia cerrano: I know. I´m traying to not made so many mistakes but as I not writing it and only traducing it, they just pop in some times. I promise you that from chapter nine they would not be more his/ her mistakes.**

 **Also, about the relationships of the characters its like this:**

 **Regulus and Sirius are brothers in canon. In this story, Jason was adopted into the Black family so he is adopted brother of them, but he only see Regulus as his brother as Sirius is his mate.**

 **Now, Sirius and Remus did have a relationship. But that is over, dead and buried. It was before Sirius was sent into Askaban.**

 **Jason and Sirius would have an relationship once the story advances.**


	9. Chapter 8

**The world dont stop for you**

Antares had always been an early riser. An habit for his school days when he had to wake up at dawn to be able to get ready for the day as the dungeons were pretty far from of the Dining Hall and he always had to made sure Reg and his court –as well as Narcissa and Andromeda– were alright before made his way to the aforementioned dining room.

Of course that ritual changed as time passed. But the pattern of waking at dawn never did, even when he moved with the Potters much to Prongs and Padfoot dismay as all of they slept together or when he moved into Bulgaria; The only times he didn't wake up this early was the morning that followed the full moon as he was exhausted form have been running the entire night in company of his pack.

And talking about pack and full moons…

Seeing the placid appearance of his old friend –they had fallen asleep at the couch– it was obvious that he would have to find a safe place for Remus to transform. They were many properties he could use, but he should make sure that they were absolutely sure, after all, he didn't want a repetition of their fifth year and neither did Remus.

Another thing was that he had heard about a new potion that could help Moony whit his furry little problem, the Wolfsbane, if he wasn't mistaken allowed Werewolf's to keep their mind even when their transformed.

It still made the transformation hurt like a bitch, but even after all this years, Jason hadn't found a way to make it less painfully – He supposed that it was because it was a forced change, so different from his own, and the fact that was an infection, a disease. A dark curse highly contagious– but even then, Antares was sure that if it worked Moony would be feeling much better if he could conserve his mind in the full moon.

He, himself, had investigated long and extensive about Lycanthropy but it really wasn't there much information about the causes or the curse, just how to identify the persons affected and how to kill them. They were dark creatures, so the wizards were more interest in eliminated them than to learn from them.

Such a pity as Antares couldn't work with so little information and so he was going to take what he could and bought some vials of the potion before the end of the week and arranged the new place for the pack before the next full moon.

Jason left a sigh of his lips and shook his head. His hand pet kindly the hair of his friend a few times before getting up and moving to the stairs, he had to take a bath and change his clothes, and maybe work a little in the pending paperwork before breakfast time.

When he got into his room, the house elf´s had already made sure the bedroom was ready, as well as to put a set of clean robes on the bed. Antares smiled as he entered in the tube, he really love the feeling of warm water caressing his nude skin.

House elves were amazing little things. The most faithful servants he had ever known and kind of cute with their necessity to please, he always had thought that Regulus had the right idea at treating them with respect and courtesy, because if they loved you, they were nothing they wouldn't do for you, even without an order. And of course, if they hated you, they will find a way to twist your words or find dangerous loopholes in your orders just to fuck you up.

He always had been kind with them when he was a child, mostly to made Regulus happy, but now that he was an adult he was starting to see the benefits in doing it. He was thinking in enforce it as a rule for the members of his pack, particularly in the cubs as he wanted his pack to be happy and not to end like the Blacks of old.

Once he finished, he dressed and went back to the ground floor.

He smiled maliciously at the sleeping face of Remus before turning his hair emerald green. It had been a recurrent prank in their school years, transforming their cloths or hair into the colors of the contrary house that the one the victim belonged. Usually in Quidditch season or at the end of the year, mostly to show they could as all of the Marauders were very powerful wizards and when the protections were up, changing the colors was quite difficult. A real challenge.

But of course, in this moment, Moony was sleeping. So he was an easy target.

He left the sleeping wolf behind and went to find his cub. After all, a long, but productive day awaited them.

 **OoOoOo**

"Uncle Moony…" Harry said in a hesitant tone, seeing at Remus with big, incredulous, green eyes, once the tree of them were sitting in the table.

"Yes, Harry?" The werewolf asked whit an elegant arch of his right eyebrow and a fond smile.

"Why is your hair green?" The youngest wizard asked in a confused tone.

Remus eye started to twitch and Jason burst laughing, grapping his sides to shoot down the pain, trying to breath. Moony glared at Antares, gritted his teeth and breathed a couple of times to calm down before answering his nephew with the calm air that characterized him.

"Because Hati has the soul of a trickster"

That only made Antares laugh even more as both of they knew that ´Has the soul of a Trickster´ was just another way to say: _He´s being an arse_ and not being caught saying the actual words by the teachers back at Hogwarts or in Prong´s home.

Of course, Moony wasn´t going to curse in front of the cub. It was cute seeing the werewolf took the role of responsible uncle once again. Not that Jason would curse in front of his cub, but hey, he knew that it was only matter of time for Harry to learn and that the only thing he could do was to make sure to teach his cub that was an occasion for everything –including the use of bad words.

Harry blinked, confused. He couldn't see why that phrase was so funny, but seeing Remus fight a smile he came to the conclusion that it must be an internal joke from the Marauders.

After a few instants, Jason managed to stop himself and regain his cool, then, he smile down at his pup and said "Don't worry about it, pup. It´s a Marauder tradition that I longed to continue."

It was a simple spell. One that James had developed when they were in first year and the first time he use it was in Jason, as a prank, two weeks after they entered Hogwarts. It´s effects disappeared in a few hours, but it wasn't a way to end it before that time. They all had experimented more than once and it was quite annoying, because avoiding it was very simple, but once it stuck, you could only wait until the effect disappeared.

"I will have my vengeance," Moony informed Jason in mock seriousness.

"I look forward it" He smirked playfully as he winked.

"Oh, no," Narcissa´s voice was covered of mock horror. "I will not have another prank war in this house. The one of Christmas of your and Sirius third year was bad enough." She told Jason as she and her family entered in the dinner hall.

"That was a terrific Christmas dinner" Andromeda added as she and her daughter, also, entered in the room. Unfortunately, Ted had a reunion in the morning so he hadn't been able to eat breakfast with them.

"Yes, it was." The blond witch laughed. "Until Antares turn Mother´s hair into a nest of feathers. Then it became a war field."

"It was an accident!" Antares exclaimed flustered, making everyone –except Lucius, because he was a prick– laugh as they took their places in the table.

Jason had been really mortified when that happened, truth be told. And the memory still made him blush in shame, because he had tripped on the carpet and so his spell lost direction, and instead of having connected with Bella's head, it connect with his aunt's. Of course, neither Sirius, nor Regulus – Or either of their cousins, for that matter– let him forgot about it.

Although, fortunately for him, his parents hadn't been that upset with him, mostly because all the child's of his generation were participating and was an iinnocent way to improve the dueling skills of all the participants. Even if all knew, it had started as a prank war. But, that didn't change the fact that he had received a stinky spell and a week of lessons by the Black Patriarch as punishment.

"Anyway," He drawled, as he tried to change the topic and calm his blush. "I´m glad you could join us for breakfast. Seat, please."

Their cousins were very amused by this fact, but neither said anything. So both families sit on their respective places and the elves brought the food, serving breakfast to all the presents.

"We don't mind spending the summer on family, cousin. But I really hope that you use this time for something more productive that turning poor Remus´ hair green." Andromeda said sending Antares a _You know you had better things to do, young man_ look that made her look disturbingly similar to Aunt Cassiopeia.

He, actually, had to shake up his head to get rid of the need of sit straight and say _yes, ma'am._

"In fact, I do." Jason allowed with a sheepish smile, ignoring Moony snickering, before adding in a more serious tone "My intention is using the rest of the summer to educate our pups into what really meant to be a member of the Black Family and preparing them for the years to come."

From what he had saw, all the children need urgently to learn what his generation had already know by the time their letters came. That Harry didn't knew that kind of basic things, was to be expected for his upright. After all, being raised by muggles didn't do much to his pup.

But, Draco and Nymphadora? Their mothers were Blacks. And both, Narcissa and Andromeda, should had educated their sons to be aware of what meant to be part of their family, even if their surnames weren't Black.

And they knew it.

He could see it in how their eyes flashed with anger, but couldn't hold their gaze when he challenged them. Although, Jason wasn't blaming them, he needed to put the right cards in the table so they could move on.

"What do you mean, Hati?" Harry asked confused and a little worried, putting in words what Draco and Nymphadora were thinking. I mean, Harry knew he had much to learn, but he couldn't understood that his cousins were going to receive the same lessons.

"Well, cup. Being part of an Ancient and Noble House means many things that neither of you are aware of. So, we are going to give you a crash curse so at least you have the basics when you return to Hogwarts." Jason told his son with a smile. "After all, we can't allow that people take advantage of any of you, now that all of you are recognized as Childs of Black."

That was a point that worried him. Because, he could remember how all the important families –and many, not that important– inside England had tried their best to acquire a member of their house, including the so called Dark Lord who had wanted to have all of them at his side.

Truth be told, he didn't wanted to imagine what the Wizarding World would do to his heir. After all, his son was the Boy-Who-Lived and heir to two Noble and Ancient Houses. He was a big prize at the eyes of many, and Jason would be dammed if he let someone abuse of his cub because Harry was unaware of how he was seen by many.

Not that Draco and Nymphadora weren't in danger of being treated like that.

After all, the blond was the future Black King of the Slytherin house and that alone made him a target inside the school, inside his own house, never mind the other houses. He also was heir of the Malfoy fortune, so he was too a big prize, even if he wasn't in the kind of danger that Harry was.

Of course, Nymphadora, was also a target. She being the only female heir of the Black House and a metamormagus, and being near to became of age, made her a look like a reward for many stupid wizards who believed that marrying her could take part of the fortune of the Black household. Pretty much like it had been with Bella, Andy and Cissy when they had that age.

So teaching them how to defend themselves was a priority.

"What do you meant whit «Now that you are recognized as Childs of Black» _,_ My Lord?" Nymphadora asked with curiosity, making Jason blink and look at Andromeda, who shook her head and look at him as saying _, it's your responsibility to tell them this things, after all, you're the Patriarch of this family_ in a mocking kind of way.

Witch was true, but, come on!

I tell, you. His cousins were evil incarnate! This was revenge for his comment of how they had raised their child's, he was sure.

"He means that even if you don't had the surname Black, you are recognized by law and magic as if you did. In a similar fashion of what happened with Jason when he was adopted to the main family, but he kept the surname Stark."

Moony explain to the children calmly, using what the Marauders had denominated his teacher voice as he took naturally the place of Hati´s right hand. The children nodded, haven understood what he meant. And Jason sighed silently as he thanked the gods for Remus Lupin.

"I agree with your idea, cousin. But, I would like that you allow me and Andy to be the ones doing the teaching." Narcissa told Antares, still with mischief glowing in her dark grey eyes. "With the only exception of Draco´s new mantle as King of Slytherin, because, neither me, nor my sister can help in that matter"

Antares pouted. He had wanted to teach the cubs! But, he could understand. He was Lord Black and had many affairs to worry about, including looking for Peter and freeing Sirius form Azkaban. In reality he didn't had time for teaching the children.

"Of course, but…please, Cissy. Try to not teach them nothing inappropriate for their age." Hati told her as he give her the stinky-eye. After all, Blacks were known for teaching their children how to make their enemies suffer and then disappear the evidence at a tender age.

But, things were different now.

They were not a war anymore. So he wanted to take things slow for the cubs and with that he meant not lessons to hold knifes and horrible curses.

"I promise, my lord." The blonde witch told him, ignoring his dark look. "Although, I must remind you that Nymphadora is almost of age, she needs to know certain things as a female of our house."

"Well, of course. "Jason agreed easily as the Witches of House of Black were known for their master at dark rituals and the legendary grimoire that belonged to them and only them. Things that even the Patriarch wasn't allowed to know.

"In the matter of Draco´s education as the next Black King. I will teach him the basics today, after I return form Grimmauld Place." He added, already making plans for the rest of the summer. The Slytherin crown wasn't an easy thing to wear, but it wasn't really needed much instruction, as every King or Queen was their own person and have a unique way to rule.

The adult at the table nodded, accepting his intentions of returning to his old home without a word.

"What is that thing about being «King»?" Harry asked innocently at his cousin, almost in a whisper. But, to Moony and Hati had very good hearing and both of them smiled, liking the progress on the bond in the two cousins.

"It´s a position on the Slytherin House." Draco answered in another whisper.

"A very important one, for that matter" Antares said, causing both boys to blush. "It´s also a tradition that had been carried for centuries. It marks that the strongest Black of the generation that is attending at Hogwarts rules the house of the snakes. And as it involves our _Family Magic_ , not even the Headmaster can say a thing of how you rule. Of course, it also involves a lot of responsibilities along with the power it gives to the one who is holding the crown."

"Really?" Harry asks, surprised to hear that as Gryffindor doesn't have something similar.

"Yes" Moony intercedes. "It´s not only Slytherin, tough. I believe that Ravenclaw has something similar, but with a council of seven years. And we had an unofficial King in James, but he didn't have a real power like Antares did when he hold the crown or Regulus after him, as many of the Gryffindor population belongs to light families and muggle-borns and rituals like the one that involucres the Black family is not something that would be allowed inside our house"

"I believe the Hufflepuff´s are very much the same as the Gryffindor's." Jason added, with a thoughtful stance.

""We are" Informed Nymphadora with a nod and an enthusiastic "We don't have a King or a Queen, but sometimes we had a leader that shows to be a promise from time to time."

That was news to Jason, but he hadn't pay much attention to the other houses during his residence in Hogwarts as he had been more worried about his own house and the one of his pack-mates and the hate that ran between them.

Anyway, it was always good to learn new things.

They continued talking as they ate breakfast. Once they finished, Lucius said his goodbyes and went to work. Jason did the same, he kiss his cub´s forehead and rub his cheek against Moony as he went to the flu network to be able to access to Grimmauld place (He also had ruffled Draco´s hair and kiss Nymphadora on the cheek, and send his cousins a warning glare that they ignored without a second thought).

"Welcome home, Master" The old elf said to him the moment he step outside the fireplace. He was just as Jason remember him, although there was a little more bitterness in his voice "What can Kreacher do for Master?"

"I came to see a few things in the Library…and to speak with Mother" Jason said a little awkwardly, he didn't dislike the house elf, but Kreacher wasn't his favorite servant either. And he actually didn't want to spend much time in this house, that once on a time had been his home, but now, was only a tomb.

"I will stay a while, so prepare lunch for me in a few hours." He added, hoping that with and order, Kreacher would stop staring at him.

"Of course, Master" The elf bowed again and then, disappeared.

He really was a creepy elf.

Jason had no idea why Reg liked him so much, but his little brother had always been a difficult being to understand…

Anyway, Mother´s portrait should be in the hall, almost in the beginning of the stairs, if his memory didn't fail him.

Aha!

There it was.

He plastered a smirk on his face, walked right in front the big portrait and greet the portrait with the most _I'm a-very-well-educated-pureblood voice_ he could muster. Doing his best to act like he wasn't scared as fuck for the reaction of the late Lady Black at seeing him.

"You!" His Mother snarled in fury and the hate in her eyes made Antares shiver, because if looks could kill, he would be death and buried six feet's under the ground in that very moment.

Walburga Black had always been a terrific woman; proud and slightly psychopathic, she was a less bloodthirsty version of Bella –Or maybe Bella was a crueler version of the late Lady Black.– and one of the women Jason respected the most.

And although, her love was toxic, Antares has wanted it and worked very hard to obtain it

Of course that when she and Orion went far enough in their quest to aid the Dark Lord, it was too much. Because Hati would had condone many things, but never the use of an unforgivable on his Mate. (Or his brother, Reg, for that matter) and given the option between Sirius and them, well, his decision was obvious.

Should had been obvious. As well as his reaction.

And still, seeing her in a post-mortem picture was heartbreaking.

"Please, Mother…" Jason practically begged at the portrait. "I´m not here to fight."

"Then, why are you here, savage scum?!" She spat at him, poison drifting form her lips, in the way only women of their family could. "To rub in my face that even after what you did, you are still Lord Black?!"

"No, Mother" Jason told her with a soft tone. "I´m here to tell you that I´m going to make our family great once again. As you dreamed. Me and Sirius, leading our family and putting everyone in their place, taking England and making everyone shiver at the sound of our name."

It had been her wish.

That they would marry and became the most powerful Black couple the world had saw since the time of Morgana herself. Of course, that dream had died even before Orion tried to use a _cruciatus_ on his mate and they were disowned, because Padfoot had never see him as more than a good friend.

The face of his mother softened a little at the mention of his plans, but her eyes didn't lost their fire. "Why would you do that? You and Sirius are mudblood loving, blood-traitors."

And she is right. They are. But the difference is in that little fact that when Sirius don't believe that blood matters, Jason does. He _knows_ that blood is important and that the fact that they are purebloods and members of the Black family, makes them better than anyone else, but he also _knows_ that chosen bonds are more important than blood relation and that you should value the person not his genealogy.

"Because, I adopted a cub. His name is Harrison Black." Hati smiled as he mentioned his son. "And, what would be the best way of guarantee that he would live a happy life than to control the country?" As he says this, his smile turns into a cruel and dark smile, his teeth are more close to fangs than human set, and his eyes became gold, shinning gems that reveled his predator nature.

"I see…" Walburga says in a soft tone.

She, as a mother, could understand the need to protect your sons and could see that because of this child, his grandson, Antares would do anything. He would burn the world for Sirius, but for his cub, he would conquer it and rule it with an iron fist.

In that moment she saw a Dark Lord much more frightening and powerful than Voldemort and she felt her chest explode in pride, but taste the bitterness in her mouth at the same time, because she wasn't alive to see her favorite son became the man she always was sure he could become.

"Very well." She returns to the sharp end her voice always had as she asked "What do you need?" Because, Antares would not put a foot in this house and talk to her if he didn't want something.

"I need a ritual to track down someone who has been hidden for almost eleven years." Jason smile is still in his face as is the dark aura that promise pain and suffering to any who was stupid enough to get in his way. "I was wondering if you knew of something that I can found useful to fix my little problem"

"I think I have a few rituals in mind." Walburga tell him with a cruel smirk in her lips. "Do you need them alive?"

"Unfortunately, yes." And for his tone and face, it was really unfortunately for Jason. It almost seem like it hurt him that he couldn't kill his target.

Walburga hummed thoughtfully. "Look the book _Wonderful and useful tricks_ by Nymeria Black in the third and four chapters you should found a ritual it could work for you, my son."

The addressing was surprise to Jason, but a wonderful one. He couldn't avoid feeling happiness at hearing those words coming for her lips.

"Thank you, Mother" He breathes as his smile turns into something more kind and soft.

"You're welcome."

"When I had deal with this, I will return with Siri and Harrison. So you can know my son." Antares promise as he bows, grateful for the help. He wants to do what he said, but he knows it will be a long time before he can do that.

Even then, portraits aren't aware of time as persons do. So it didn't matter if he waits years before bringing Harry and introduce him.

His mother bows back and smiles her thanks to the promise.

Jason directs his steps to the library, feeling much better now that he knows where to look. In no time, he would find Peter. And when he did, well, less just said that Peter would regret his first breath, because Hati was not going to show him mercy. And neither would, Moony and Padfoot.

Death would be his punishment for betraying their Alphas and hurting their cub, the worst act of treason.

One that force them to act, even if he had been their brother in the past.

 **OoOoOo**

Ted Tonks was having a bad morning. And his day didn't look like it would improve.

He had a reunion with a member of the Wizengamot, Lady Bones, who also was the head of the department of Aurors and had confirmed what he feared: There wasn't a registry of Sirius Black trial.

That were bad news. Very bad news.

It meant the Ministry had made a mistake. What mistake – Either not creating a copy of the trial, which was illegal or not having a trial at all, which was even worse – they still had to see, but whatever it was, Lord Black was going to be furious.

And he feared a furious Antares Black.

"I don't know what to do…" He confessed to Amelia, looking and sounding lost. It was obvious that he needed to tell Jason, but he didn't knew how to break him the news.

"Well…" Lady Bones, who was a strong woman who believed firmly in justice, offered him a solution. "Tell Lord Black I need to see him tomorrow at 10:30 of the morning. I will give him the news."

"Oh, Merlin. Thank you" Ted said, looking at the Chief Auror gratefully before composing himself and returning to his natural professionalism "I will inform Lord Black of your request. Please, have a good day, Amelia."

They interchanged nods and then, Ted exited of the office, leaving Madam Bones alone, still thinking about what they had discovered and how much it would affect their world.


	10. Chapter 9

**One for sorrow,**

 **Tow for Joy…**

" _Excuse me._ " Antares said in a monotone tone that sent shivers on all the other wizards present on the room as it was so fake and forced that could only been hiding the rage of it´s owner. _"_ But, could you repeat that one more time, Miss Bones."

Amelia Bones –who for all she was a Hufflepuff, was not a coward– took a depth breath and repeated once again what she and Mr. Tonks had discovered the day before: That there weren't any register of Sirius Black´s trial.

Wizards powerful enough to be able to make their magic visible, were strange to find. As a the wizard or witch in question learned control, they were forced to only practice magic with their wands so they would only cast spells that way. It was a way to protect the children, but also to control the individuals that the government had impose centuries ago.

Of course, the Ancient and Noble Houses knew that you could do magic without a wand. Their members often practiced Dark Magic; Ancient Magic. Rituals and spells that were something else, something outside of what the society as a whole could manage.

Antares was a natural genius. He was talented enough that he could do this impressive demonstrations of raw power without losing his control of his magic. But, that didn't change the fact that it was an incredible dangerous thing to do.

That was why, Remus hisses a "Hati" when his Alfa started to create some ominous shadows, obscuring the room and making the gold eyes of the Head of House Black look even more menacing, grabbing Jason´s wrist with his hand, stopping him.

Gold eyes meet gold eyes. And Hati sighed, before closing his eyes for a moment. He forced himself to relax and when he opened his gaze was grey once again. Remus let go. And Antares looked back at Amelia.

"Forgive me, Miss Bones." He said softly, looking honestly embarrassed for his reaction.

"It´s alright, Lord Black." She answered with a nod. Acting like furious Lords were nothing especial, maybe they weren't. She was head of the Aurors, after all.

Antares nodded at her and gift her a charming smile. But his eyes were cold as he turned to the husband of his cousin.

"Ted. I want you to enforce an urgent reunion of the Wizengamot, please."

His tone was even and polite, but it didn't deceive those present in the room. Lord Black was going to bring _Hell_ in the ones guilty of sending Sirius Black into Azkaban without a trial.

"Of course, Lord Black." He answered, swallowing hard.

 **OoOoOoO**

Four hours after the entire Wizengamot was reunited.

Normally, this would had been impossible. As Wizengamot meetings were only in predetermined dates as tradition commanded, and all the members of this Court respected tradition cause their own families had decreed to be that way and it do something else would be disrespectful.

But, of course, something's allowed that this kind of reunions.

Things like the Head of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight asking for an Urgent Meeting; Thing that only could be matter of Life or Death.

Of course, the fact that the new Lord Black was the one inquiring for the meeting, only made the other members more interested in resolving whatever was the matter he wanted to discus.

Many of them had an idea of what could be what Antares wanted to resolve: The incarceration of Sirius Black, because they knew the history the two of them shared.

Some of them, were afraid of this resolution; some of them just were curious and wanted to see what Antares Black would do and how it would change their world. While the others were fortunately unaware of the storm that was at their doors.

Albus Dumbledore was one of the first. He remembered Antares and was afraid of what the dangerous man would do, because anyone who had known the pair of cousins knew about the love and deep devotion Jason had for Sirius.

But he also knew another thing, not of the boys´ time at the school, but of the time of the war: That Antares didn't know what limits were and had not compulsion of use dark spells to destroy his enemies.

He swallowed hard as that cold eyes wandered all the presents – Studying them. Cataloging them –and paused on him for a moment, before continuing on. He had seen that look before. In a very similar pair of silver orbs. Not on Sirius, not on Regulus. But in Bellatrix Lestrange.

Cold, terrible, and incredible cruel.

That eyes promised pain, death and devastation.

In that moment, Albus Dumbledore, had no doubt of that Antares Black would demand blood for what they had done to his ´Mate´. And that he would not leave this meeting without it.

"My lords. Minister. Members of the Court." Antares started. "I ask for this body of government with one topic on mind. The incarceration of Sirius Black, last heir of The Noble and Ancient House of Black. Which I had been made aware that there is not a recorded hearing."

His voice was polite, but carried a darkness that caused everyone to shiver. Not only because of what Jason was insinuating – That was already horrible in the mind of the heads of the Noble and Ancient Houses, because if it was true…

Then the members of the government had taken more liberties that the ones they had allowed it. And of course, if it had happened to the heir of the Black Household, then it could happened to them as well. And that. That, was something they couldn't allow.

But also, because reminded to the responsible of that incident, that House Black was the _worst House to do enemies with._

The entire Wizengamot was on hysterics. They wanted to know if it was true. They started to demand to see the records. The Dark and Grey Families screaming for justice. The Light ones, were silent in their anger and incredulity, because no one wanted to make the mistake of getting on Antares bad side. Even when many of them were sure that Sirius Black was guilty of betraying the Potter and the murder of the Muggles and Peter Pettigrew.

Antares stared at the other members of the court with impassiveness. His face a pure-blood mask; Arrogant, icy, distant.

The room fell silent when Madam Bones confirmed what Antares has said. But that only lasted for a few seconds before all of them started screaming again.

"How is that even possible?!"

"Did he even had a trial?"

"Crouch!"

"He was the responsible of the trials!"

"We need answers!"

"The Minister!"

"Bagnold!"

"This is sacrilege!"

"It´s been ten years!"

This was allowed for a few seconds before Dumbledore forced his voice to ask for calm. The Wizengamot agreed. But it was clear that they weren't happy about the situation and that they wanted answers and they wanted them now.

Millicent Bagnold, the last Minister of Magic, was already death so they couldn't question her. But Barty Crouch was alive and still a member of the body of government, as well as Albus Dumbledore.

The Wizengamot was not a merciful entity. They wanted answers; they wanted blood.

But fortunately for them, Antares wasn't interested in punish them right now. And he expressed his opinion on the matter very fast, interrupting the others.

"By our laws, it´s illegal to retain an individual for more than six days without a trial." He stated, looking directly at the actual Minister, who violently flinched at being the target of his gaze. "I _demand_ of you that you free Sirius at notice. So I can retrieve him of Azkaban this afternoon."

This provoked the Light side of the spectrum, who still believe in Sirius guilty even if the lack of a trial had offend them. But the protest were quickly silenced at Antares dark hiss and how his eyes glowed gold for a moment.

"My mate is innocent." He said firmly, before adding with a smirk. "But I do think he would like a trial. Which is why I want to arrange a trial for next week. But not only for thus Sirius Black, but also for Mr. Crouch and Mr. Dumbledore for negligence in the procedures and abuse of power."

"I second the motion." Lucius said, immediately. But he wasn't the only one to pronounce this words. Longbottom, Bones, Greengrass, Lestrange and Shacklebolt, also seconded the motion instantly.

Light, Grey and Dark families agreeing so quickly and evidently was something that had happened so little in the past of this body that most of them considered something impossible.

Seeing this, the Minister had no other option but agree.

"I will sing you a permission to retrieve Sirius immediately, Lord Black." The shaking man said, starting to write it immediately.

Barty Crouch and Albus Dumbledore didn't have any opportunity to defend themselves or argue with this decision. Their power turned into an illusion the moment Antares entered the room, but only were conscious of this now, when it was too late to do anything.

They were lucky that this hadn't ended in blood, and they knew it. But the fear and dread stayed with them long after the reunion had ended.

Because, the Wolf had its eyes on them.

And as the members of the Bulgarian Nobility would say if asked, the Wolf never let its prey escape.

 **OoOoOoO**

"This place smells like death." Moony whispered, in a nervous and twitchy manner.

"I know." Hati answered, in the same tone that Remus had. Both of them bothered by the presence of the dementors near the building, but also of the essence of the fear and madness that filled all the place.

"Are you sure of this?" Remus asked, again, looking at his Alfa with narrowed eyes.

"Yes." Hati answered with a sigh. "It´s better if you are the one retrieving him. As we don't know he´s going to react to me…or how I´m going to react to him. I would prefer that he gets home safe and sound, without more complications, Moony."

This was true, but he had another reason to allow Remus retrieve his Mate. He wanted to have a chat with Bella, and this was the only opportunity he was going to have.

"Alright." Murmured Remus as he took a breath and grab his courage and got in the cell that contained the lost member of their pack.

Antares sighed. He turned and direct his steps to the cell that hold Bellatrix, which was a few meters to the right. The guard opened the gate, not daring to question him. Allowing him to enter and interview with his cousin.

"Hello, Bella." He said, softly.

"Hello, little wolf." She answered with the biggest smile she was able.

She looked emaciated. Her beauty was gone, taken away by the abuse and confinement. But her eyes, were just as he remembered. Shiny; glowing with power and madness. But, also caring and loving as they look at him.

"Are you here to free Siri?" She asked, still sitting in the dirty floor, her back leaning against the wall.

"Yes." Jason allows. "But I'm also here to talk with you, cousin."

"I knew it!" She sings, she laughs. "You´re my favorite. You know? That´s why I will tell you whatever you want to know, _cousin_."

"Why?" He asks. And he doesn't have to say to what he is referring to, she knows it just for his tone.

"Why?...Well, He made me shiver in a way I can't explain. He was so powerful, so alluring, so… _intoxicating._ " Her tone is dark, hateful. "He made me feel the same Sirius made you feel. The only difference is that _He_ ask of _me_ what _Siri_ would never ask of _you_."

Antares entire frame shivers at the description. It´s scaring knowing that Voldemort was able to do that to one of the most powerful witches he had known. But also, it scared him that she was right. If Sirius had asked…

He would have done what Bella had, and more.

"But, cousin. My love for him was false. _A lie_." She continued, sounding so angry that magic started to chirp around her. Something that should not be possible inside this place, but was, because the magic on her veins was as alive as his was.

"That´s why I will tell you what you want to know." She added. "Starting with his real name and nature. _Tom Riddle, Half-blood_." She spat, disgusted with him and with herself for having loving someone so below her own position.

That truth hung heavily in the air.

Antares eyes were opened with surprise and incredulity. He had always believed that Voldemort wasn't as good as he present himself, because if what he said was true and he was the heir of Slytherin. Why don't present himself as Lord Slytherin? Why no one know of his existence before he started his rebellion?

But, to know that he was actually a Half-blood was, well…

Eye-opening to say the least.

"He is not gone, you know. Not really." Bella continued. "He left something with me, a Horrocrux. He also give one to Lucy and Reg."

"...What?" Antares gasped, in horror and incredulity.

Horcruxes were forbidden Magic. Making one was something taboo, something that only few families inside England knew about and something all agreed shouldn't be done. As not only was a dangerous ritual, but because it had dreadful and hideous consequences on the wizard or witch.

That Riddle had create more than one…

Well, it explain its madness and obsession. But also the way he deformed ass the years passed, making irreconocible the boy that had study along their fathers and why his magic was so chaotic.

Bellatrix nodded approvingly, before she confided "I don't think, Lucius knows what he gave him." Which made sense, as the Malfoy's weren't actually a dark family, but a grey one until a few decades before and the knowledge wasn't something they possessed.

"But Reg surely knew, he had to know the instant he touched it. After all, I did, when my fingers touched the golden coup he gave me." She added; her voice had become a distracted whisper and her gaze was lost in the memories.

The mention of Regulus made Antares growl, dark and deep, which made Bellatrix jump and refocus on his figure, her face slightly paling.

"Did he killed him?" Antares asked before he could contain himself, he had wondered for years, he had to know for sure if that monster was responsible for the death of his little brother.

Bellatrix shook his head.

"I don't think Reg is dead." She whispered, her voice trembling "A few weeks before disappearing, he asked me about a ritual that was supposed to heal the worst of the curses...I believe he wanted out. No. I'm sure he wanted to leave the Death Eaters…" Her eyes never left Antares´ "I know, because I was sure that I s _hould had killed_ _him_ that day...But...But, he was my _baby cousin_ …I couldn't."

She took a deep breath, trying to maintain herself in control.

"I think the moment Reg knew what the Dark Lord had done...what the ring was...He realized the ritual. I think he was trying to erase his mark of his skin, but the Dark Mark is a new magic we haven't saw before, something twisted and aberrant..."

"What ritual?" Antares gritted his teeth and interrupted her abruptly. His heart was throbbing hard inside his chest. He had to know. If the possibility of Reg being still alive was real…

Hope filled his chest, even when he knew that it was a stupid thing to allow.

" _Jurate´s plead_ " She said, and his heart stopped.

He had read about that ritual. His mother had taught him the book and allow him to study it for a while, when he was little. He didn't remember the exact procedure or the innumerable steps, but he did remember what it was supposed to do.

Purify and heal.

It was a difficult ritual. And a very dangerous one if done wrong. But even then…

"He could be alive…" Jason whispered, overwhelmed by joy and wonder.

Bella nodded, a small smile on her lips. "I think he is...but he's still healing..." She was touching her own mark, which had been ravished by her own nails and was now an opened wound.

Antares closed his eyes for a second, allowing the anger and sadness that seem to emanate from his cousin wash over him.

"You´re not doing this for the good on your heart, Bella." Antares says, quizzically. "What do you want from me?"

"A simple favor, little wolf. _Free me of his influence."_ Her smile is sharp, predatory. But her eyes are the ones of a child, scared and broken.

Antares´ heart stops as he makes a wounded sound, his face contorted in pain. Only death could free his cousin of Riddle´s influence, because the mark he had engraved on her skin was much more than a tattoo.

He had been interested in the past, the magic behind it was incredible crafted and it was something he hadn't seen before, but he never had the opportunity of studying it as he rather die than put one in his arm.

But the little he knew was enough to see that what Bella was asking was that he killed her; or more specifically, that he _destroyed_ her.

The very idea hurt. It hurt _so much_.

But he couldn't say no when he could feel magic in her veins roar and cry, trying to expel the sickness of Riddles magic out of her system.

She was going to die or way or another.

"Alright." He says, his voice crooked. "Alright."

"You need to take me back so you can reclaim my vault. The coup is in there. You only have to take it and _destroy it_." She informs him as nothing is wrong. "I'm not sure where the one Regulus had is, but Lucius must still have his. You have to make sure he doesn't return, cousin. You have to. "

"I know. I won't let him ruin us again, Bella." Antares promises.

He has approached to her and now he is kneeling at her side, his right hand cupping her cheek in a loving stance.

Their eyes connect, they eyes hold the same storm.

Antares had always wondered what would be his life is Sirius hadn´t be his Mate. Now, he knew. His life would probably had tied to this women, few years his senior, but so similar to him that it was like seeing himself on the mirror.

Beautiful and enchanting, Bella. For all that Cissy had been his favorite, Bella and him had always shared a bond, as she was a mentor and a companion; they shared interests and the hear the call of the Dark Arts with the same force.

He could see it easily; without Sirius holding his heart they would probably had ended together; feeding each other obsessions and growing into the shadows until they couldn't escape.

So similar of what had happen to her with the man she chose to love, her marriage to the Lestrange family not mattering in the sightless.

"сладка отрова" He whispered into her lips, before given her a chaste kiss.

Her broken lips were painted red, red that turned dark blue, almost black, before disappearing as nothing had happened.

The old Stark Family curse taking effect in seconds.

Bella would die on a sweet dream before the moon rises tonight.

She smiled at him, grateful. And Antares wanted to cry; to rage and sob. But forced himself to return the smile, before closing his eyes and put their foreheads together.

"Goodbye, Bella."

 **OoOoOoO**

Remus entered into the cell with fear squeezing his heart, but trying his best to be strong. _For Sirius, for Jason._ Still, the horror claws his heart when he sees the figure of his late love. The once handsome man is sickly thin, his hair is long and is a mess, his skin and clothes are dirty and covered with dust.

His eyes are clouded. His smile is one of a madman.

There is not much left of the once proud and powerful wizard that Sirius had been.

Tears filled his eyes and he could only muster a soft, _broken._

"Padfoot?"

The man in the cell blinks, once, two times. His gaze focus for a moment, his eyes narrowed as he took into Remus and then opened with surprise and bewilderment. Like he can't believe that he is there, only a few steps from him.

"Moony."

The whisper that leaves Sirius lips is as broken as Remus own, but much more sad and hurt; so much _hope_ in that little word.

He can't stand it anymore. Remus close the distance separating them, kneels and puts the younger man into a hug; carful, soft, caring. The werewolf nuzzles the other man, sobbing as he reassures Sirius that everything is going to be ok, that he is here now and he would take him home.

Remus doesn't mention Hati. _He can't_. Not when Padfoot is so fragile.

He now understands why Jason didn't allow himself to be the one retrieving his mate.

* * *

 **God, I´m _so sorry_ guys for the long time of wait. My school and my work keeping me ocuped, but at least it´s here the next chapther. **

**Hope you like it.**


	11. Chapter 11

Antares returns home a little more broken than before.

He did the best thing at killing Bellatrix. Not only for his cousin, but politically it opened a lot of options to get allies – particularly with the Longbottom´s. But, it still broke his heart. Bella had been always a member of his family, she was pack and having to end her life was…

It hurt.

"Something happened to Sirius? Is he alright?" Andromeda was waiting for him in the living room, her husband taking care of the cubs.

Jason shook his head. His eyes starting to fill with tears. "Moony´s taking care of him…I couldn't force myself on him…not when…not when he has suffering so much already." He explained, getting closer.

"Then. What´s wrong?" Andromeda was frowning in worry. Extending her arms, as if he was a little boy that needed to be comforted.

Ridiculous. He hadn't cried since he was five and his parents had just died. Before he learned what meant to be a Black.

Still…

He let the older women hug him and sobbed on her robes, letting all the pain he felt pour in them. He was tired and he had so much work in front of him. He had a pack to care of; a House to rule; a country to fix and enemies to destroy and conquer.

A mate…

A mate who would hate him without a doubt. Just for being who he was; what he had always been meant to be.

"I´m sorry, Andy." He cried in her arms. "I´m so sorry…I….Bella…she…"

He felt his cousin tense, understanding exactly what he meant. Then, she hug him with more force shooing him in soft whispers.

"It´s alright, cousin." She vowed; forgiving what he had done without a doubt. Because at her eyes there was nothing to forgive. Bella had lost her way a long time ago and her fate had been sealed when she accepted the mark of that man.

It was just unlucky that the one to finish her had to be Antares.

"Listen, cousin. Why don´t you go to rest? I will take care of the children. It had been a long day for you and you deserve to let go of the responsibilities for a little. Also, I will explain this to Cissa. "You're not alone, Antares. You can rely on us. I promise you."

Andromeda had always been the strong one.

She knew better than anyone what was like to carry the responsibility of holding their broken family together. The difference was in the fact that she had gotten out. Jason never could. Not really. And now, he never would.

But she was going to help him in every way she could.

To Jason, Andromeda´s suggestion sounded too good. He nodded and allow her to help him to his bedroom. Where her cousin requested to the house elf´s to bring him something hot and sweet to help him with the shock.

"It´s going to be alright." Andromeda promised one more time; a warm smile on his lips.

oOoOoOo

Remus uses a portkey to transport himself and Sirius to the safe haven he had arrange for them; for Sirius to heal and for them to pass the night of the Full Moon. A cute cottage deep inside the forest in France, far away from the big cities.

Property of the Black Household for generations.

Jason had insinuated him that he would give him a Stark property, but there weren't many. Direwolfs were very territorial and tended to like stay in the home that had seen them born and will see them die. Their mansion and forest in Bulgaria. Even when they married to outsiders, they tended to stay in their country.

Never taking place in the outside.

House Black didn't had the same problem.

And so, Hati had chosen a place he felt was comfortable (and safe) enough for them.

Sirius has problems to focus on the present. His mind wanders from their school years, to where the time they were a couple to the point where he obviously felt betrayed.

Remus realizes that it really is a good thing Hati isn't with them.

Sirius had never actually curse him. Nor hit him. He may have growl at him when he was mad, but that was it. On the other hand, he _knows_ that after Regulus´ death they fought; with their fist, with their magic, with their fags.

He had healed Padfoot when he came home after the fight.

Hati had not allowed him close at the time. But after, when he was long gone, Lily told them that Sirius had also made him bleed. And that it was lucky that none of them had used a hurtful, nasty, curse on the other.

They were tempest and storm. Never actually far from their instincts in a way he couldn't comprehend. Moony was always there, under his skin. But his voice was an outside force to his rational mind and so he never had difficulty to see what where his own thought and actions, differentiating him from the beast.

Sirius wasn't like that.

Jason either.

Both of them always had been predators. Even before they could transform. They played by his rules and only by his rules. Not nature laws or socials niceties.

He had asked once. And James had laughed "They´re Blacks, Moony. Of course they´re like that. My mom is just the same." He had said with fondest regard and Remus decided to let it at that. Because, that was the answer many of his questions received _. They´re Black._ Just that constant that no one tried to explain.

It had been years later when he actually understood what meant to be a Black.

And he found it terrifying.

Hati knew. He knew that meeting with Sirius too soon would be only end in tragedy. Even when the thing he wanted the most was to be at Padfoot´s side —Hati never said, but Remus had eyes. He knew that even after all this time. The love Hati felt for Padfoot was as strong as ever.

"It´s ok, Pads." He promised; repeating himself another time. Forcing a smile. Shushing the pleas of forgiveness that fallen form the ravens lips as he helping him to the bedroom; his best friend needs to rest, food and a bath. Not exactly on that order.

Hati had taken care of everything. Had prepare everything that could help Sirius to recuperate; healing potions, extremely good and adequate foods, nice chambers and a place that could be theirs.

"It´s going to be ok…"

* * *

 **Hi, guys.**

 **Sorry for the length of the chapter. But I´m planning in giving you a glimpse of "The Incident" with Snape in the next chapter that I will post before Sunday.**

 **Atymer: I´m so glad you like Antares and how I managed the story this far.**

 **Princesa Vampirica: I´m sorry, dear. The reunion between Sirius and Antares is going to take a few chapters more. But I´m working on that. I will post the next chapter before the end of the week!**

 **Delia Cerrano: So glad you liked it!**

 **Lia: I have in mind that the golden trio ends adopting Draco as a part of their group. I want to explore that alternative, different from my other stories. Now, I´m also sad about Bella; she´s one of my fave characters! But I do have a hate-love relationship with her for what she did to Sirius.**

 **About Snape...**

 **You will see exactly how the relationship between the Marauders and he are in this universe. And I will explore more about Reg and his title of King of Slytherin in the next chapter.**

 **Yes! We will see more houses.**

 **Mostly the ones that were part of Regulus Court, as well as some families of the Light like the Bones, Longbottom and Weasley.**


	12. Chapter 12

**"The Incident"**

The moon wasn´t still in the sky, but they all could felt it´s power risen as the minutes passed. The cold wind of the autumn made the fallen leafs fly and whisper into their ears, laughing silently as they moved in the dark. The static in the air pumped through his veins.

But they weren't the only ones that could feel it. The entire forest was aware of it: _This was a good night to hunt._

Every creature that roams in forest know that the full moons are dangerous for them, even when they are predators at the top of their own food chains. Because, this kind of nights are only for the pack that is composed for wizards; humans.

And that. That was make them the most dangerous of all the beings inside the forbidden lands around Hogwarts.

They enter in the Shrieking Shack as they laugh. They´re happy. Exited for what´s to come. And furthermore, they´re ready to be finally _free._ At least until the sun rise once again.

Prongs is the first to notice something is off. He can´t put his finger (or hoof, now.) on what it was, though. He just knows it: His pack is in danger. Of what? He doesn't know. Isn´t able to tell. But when they go outside the whomping willow he´s watching for whatever treat is hiding in the trees.

Latter he will think that maybe it´s because he´s technically _prey_ whereas the others are predators.

(Pete doesn't count. He´s always nervous. And that´s ok ´cause Wormtail is actually _tiny_ and _fragile_ in comparison to them. Even if they will never let something happen to him, he´s still in high instincts all the time. )

But as they run he is relaying in this feeling and unable to share his concern whit the others. Not that it would have helped, or at least that´s what he thinks. What he tries so hard to convince himself because other way what happened was entirely his fault.

Which is something that he can´t allow himself to think. Because, he can´t doubt his own decisions. He needs to be secure and to always look forward. Because, he´s James Potter. The Marauder´s leader; their Alpha.

He´s the first knowing it.

But not the first to react when things go south.

They were playing tag; like every other night. Padfoot running in front of them, Moony following him with a playful determination trying to bite his tail. Hati at his side, doing the wolfish interpretation of a laugh. And he behind them, with Wormtail perched on his antlers.

Moony catches the essence first.

One moment he´s running behind Padfoot and the next he´s passing James, going into a new direction, near to the willow. To the Castle.

Prongs stops suddenly.

Human.

A human is in the woods.

The others copy his movements. They look back at him with evident surprise; this has never happen before.

Sirius transforms back and his face is full of horror as he breaths a "Snape." in clear fear.

James mind snaps in understanding before dread takes a place inside his stomach. _Oh, Morgana. No._

Hati pass him with a growl, following Moony. He´s always been very fast at taking implications. He knows exactly what means for Snape to be in the forest in a full moon. Death. Being hunted and eaten by a werewolf.

 _What have you done, Pads?!_

He´s not sure if his animal face is capable of show the alarm and trepidation he´s experimenting in that moment. But he can´t think about Padfoot right now. Moony is the priority. So he turns back and start running behind Hati, trying to catch them.

Praying that one of them makes to Snape before Moony can do something he would deeply regret all his life.

When he arrives, Moony is being tackled by Hati. Snape is on the ground, pale and shaking, but otherwise safe and whole. Not bit marks. No scratches.

Hati did it.

He changes back, rolling in his human form as he never actually stopped. He grunts as he hits the ground, but he doesn't care about that. He moves until he´s standing in front of Snape, a snarl on his lips and his wand firmly seized by his fingers.

Peter transform back an instant after; he´s on the other side of the clear. He had jump from his antlers as he rolled, running to the strategic place that will allow them to perform the contention spell they had created for this kind of situation.

(And it hurt that their contingency plans had to been put in fruition.)

Sirius comes running in the next second, transforming back. He´s trembling and his grey eyes are fixed on the bloody fight between Hati and Moony.

"Were using plan Zero." He screams as that's the only way to be hear over the blood-freezing howls the fighting pair let out as they tried to put the other on the ground. Moony was lost in his necessity of hunting; far too gone to minding hurting a member of their pack. Because, in that moment, Hati was on his way.

The other two nodded, pointing their wands to the sky.

"Hati!" Sirius screamed, warning his cousin to get the hell out of there –Neither of them wanted Jason to get trapped inside the spell– but Hati doesn't seem to listen him.

James knows they can´t wait for him.

They need to act _now._

" _Zebara!"_ They cast in unison.

Three gold lights get shot to the sky. Instantly, ice forms in above the fighting pair; a massive ice construction that is parted in different pieces of sharp stakes that fell on the space where their friends were.

Hati jumps back and he transforms in the air. Moony fangs closing too close to his face to James comfort before the ice connect with them. Obviously trying to get away. But it was too late.

The stakes pierce them both.

The ice pins Moony to the grown; hurting him enough that he stops fighting, but not enough so his life is in danger. Allowing them to stun him.

The ice also pins Jason; he´s on his back. The ice had graced his left leg and has perforate his right shoulder. He´s badly hurt. And James heart crumbles in worry.

Sirius makes a broken sound and runs to where they are. He´s actually very good a healing spells; he learn for Moony, to ease his pain. They all are aware.

"I´m fine…" Jason mumbles, softly, reassuringly, as Sirius takes the piece of ice of his body and starts healing him. He heals faster than a normal human thanks to his bloodline but even then Pads can´t avoid worry for him.

James forces to run his back to his friends and to face Snape.

He has never hated him more than he does now.

His first instinct is to kill him.

To eradicate the treat he represents to him and his.

But he knows that murder is not always the best option. Even if Snape is a half blood and it would be really easy to make him disappear, to make him been just another causality in the war that was growing outside Hogwarts walls. Or make it look like an unfortunate accident; being eaten by the acromantulas or the Typhon would be a tragic end to his life, surely.

But unfortunately (or fortunately, as one would like to see it) his mother had taught him to always think about the political stances that could play on his favor. Blackmail was an art after all. A powerful tool that House Black had master a long time ago.

"P-Potter…" Snape tried, but he was trembling. Like the coward he was.

"Shut up." He hissed, before casting a spell to tie the Slytherin. Roots emerged from he ground and trapped the boy, binding him. He adjusted the force to made sure that it hurt him; strong enough that the bones on his wrist and ankles were about to crack. The one around his neck tied enough to cut his breath, silencing him.

He looked really scared; it made him smirk darkly in response. _Good._ Snape should fear him.

"Prongs?" Pete asked, his voice trembling.

He turns, his face shifting into a concerned frown. Sighing in relief as he sees Hati back on his feet, still pale but at least he´s not bleeding anymore.

"It´s ok, Worm." He says, tone firm and hard eyes. "You and Padfoot need to take Moony back to the Shrieking Shack. Hati and I will take care of…this."

Sirius glance worried between his cousin and him, biting his lips hard enough to draw blood. Before nodding. Focusing his attention on the unconscious wolf.

Hati moves, limping, until he reaches his side. His gray eyes are cold and deadly as he glance to his fellow snake. "What are we going to do with him? Should I kill him?"

Snape eyes open more in panic.

"No." James says after a tense silence. "Summon Regulus"

Hati doesn't ask questions. He can feel how angry is his Alpha; how much he wants to _destroy._

James is a Black.

Just as he and Sirius are.

He cast a silent patronus; a silver Direwolf forms from the tip of his wand. Running in its ghostly form back to the castle, searching for his little brother.

Hati put his weight on James, resting his frame on his. Looking to comfort his Alpha. A tiny smile on his lips; James knew exactly what he was doing as always.

Looking to fix this with Regulus before acting drastically was the best action curse. As just killing Snape would create more conflict between their families. A thing he would really like to avoid; he loves being a Black. But if he was forced to choose, he would choose his pack.

 _Thank you, Prongs._

They wait there, in silence. Until Regulus arrives.

He´s on his sleeping clothes. His grey eyes are shining like smoked mirrors; containing the most destructive storm. He really looks like Sirius in that moment. Outside of his air of regal composure and formal attires.

He looks feral; dangerous.

But still every inch of the king he is.

Hati smiles at him; but doesn't move.

"Brother!" Regulus glances worriedly at him, looking for injures as he notices his stance and pale skin.

"I´m fine. " Jason promises.

"Cousin." James interrupts; a cold smile on his lips.

"Cousin." Regulus returns the greeting; composing himself and adopting his characteristics Black elegance and haughty stance.

"I think we have something that belongs to you." He tips his head to where Snape is.

Regulus glance at him and arch an eyebrow.

"You see, Reg." James purrs. "He´s a liability. He is, now, aware of something he should had never found and I find that his life doesn't worth´s as much as before. Which wasn't much to start, if we are being sincere. "

Hati chuckles.

Regulus glares at him; offended. Severus is part of his Court. Demining him worthless is an insult to him.

Jason smiles apologetically.

"I see." Regulus says, emotionless. "But if you had decided to end his life. I would not be here. And the next time I would hear about Severus would be about his demise. So. What do you want?"

James smile shows all his teeth; is terrifying. He´s normally so cheerful and kind that him acting like a Black (like a predator, when he isn't is one.) is the most terrifying thing in the universe in Hati´s mind. He shudders.

"I want you to give me your word that he will never speak of this. Of what happen tonight."

Regulus ponders the idea for a few minutes. He nods.

"Can you free him?"

"Of course." He says with false cheerfulness as he waves his wand, freeing their enemy. His eyes following Snape every move, ready to put him on his knees once again if he tried something stupid. Hati does the same, ready to pound and rip his throat with his teeth if necessary.

"Come." Regulus orders and the older raven wobbles as he gets close to his King, looking in the younger snake the protection he needed. Because, in that moment. He was sure. If it weren't for Regulus, he would be dead.

"You will make an unbreakable vow with me. You will never mention a thing about Remus condition as a werewolf. Or what happened on this night. Do you understand me?"

In any other situation Severus would sneer about the idea of letting something this good about his enemies go, but he´s not stupid.

"I agree."

They seal the vow and the magic binds them.

"I will take my belongings back with me." Regulus snarls at them with an icy anger. "Have a good night, cousin."

They leave and Prongs finally relaxes a little.

"I´m sorry about that, Hati." James sighs, as he embraces the older boy in a hug.

"It´s alright, Prongs." Jason whispers. "My brother doesn't being played. Or that you mess with his things."

James chuckles.

"Neither of us like that."

"You´re right." Jason laughs shakily.

"You know that I will never do anything to hurt you guys. Right?" He asks, looking him right in the eyes.

Hati frowns. "Of course…" Silently asking why he was saying him that.

James takes a deep breath.

"I believe Padfoot give the secret to Snape."

Hati breath catches. His eyes open in horror and he babbles an incredulous "W-What?" He dosen´t want to believe it, the idea alone makes him sick.

"You trust me."

It was a question, even if he had phrased it like a decree; like something that had always been like that.

Hati frowns; confusion replacing his fear and incredulity.

"Absolutely."

And without a doubt. He would follow Prongs to the end of the world. To hell itself it was needed to.

James smiles softly, tenderly.

"Thank you, Hati."

Then his eyes hardens.

"Let´s go back. We have things to discuss."

* * *

 **We have James in this chapter!**

 **I actually enjoyed writing this one. I love James. He´s one of my faves. And so is Regulus.**

 **Dalia cerrano: I´m sorry for the long wait between chapters. Really. I know half a year is a lot of time but I had a lot to do with my university.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Justice will be served, or way or another.**

"May I ask you why aren´t you with Sirius and Remus?" Narcissa inquired before she took a sip of her tea, not looking at Antares, but judging him all the same.

"Because Sirius needs to feel safe to recuperate and heal. And me being there, would ruin that." Jason answered rolling his eyes, putting down the parchment he was reading; it was midday and he already had a headache. He hated Politics. "We had already discussed this, Cissy. The last time we saw each other was…well, it wasn´t pretty. And I don´t want to put him on edge. Well, more of what is natural after all he lived in that place."

"Yes, you have told me that. But I don´t get it. You love him. He loved you back. Even if it wasn´t in a romantic sense…and I know that _something_ happened after Reggie. But. You never told me what happened that night. Maybe you should. "

Jason glared at her. He didn´t want to talk about that. But he knew that Narcissa wouldn't just let it go, his cousin was nosy as hell.

Truth was, he hadn´t spoken about this after that night; when he ran away from his own department to James and Lily´s house, bleeding and with a broken hearth. And touching the topic one more time just brought all those feelings back. Even when he, now, was aware that his little brother may be alive.

But, well, the faster he complied the better for his own peace of mind.

He sighed, before starting talking.

"Sirius had detached from everything that reminded him he had been born a Black, even when he was as full of himself as only our family can be. That included our parents and our brother. He and Reg had grown apart even before we started Hogwarts, but after…it got worse. Neither of them thought about the other as family. I knew that. Of course, I did. But…but he said…he said…that Reg had gotten what he deserved. _One DeathEater less in the world._ For someone who liked to pretend he wasn´t a dark wizard, Sirius could be extremely cruel."

Jason´s hands were trembling, barely contained rage and pain forcing the movement. At that moment, he had _hated_ Sirius. And so, he hadn´t watched his words. The fight had escalated quickly. Both of them, were emotional at the moment and so they went to hits, and then, curses in less than one can´t count to ten.

If they hadn´t shifted to bite each other was only because their animal's forms meant much to them and wouldn't taint them with violence against another member of their pack.

"I ended the fight, slamming him through the wall." He continued; a dark smirk on his lips. Sadness and sorrow in his eyes. "I had a dark curse on the point of my tongue, but fortunately I regain my senses before I could cast it."

Hati chuckled darkly.

"I was horrified." He allowed, caressing the soft wood of the table with his fingertips, trying to distract his mind of the memory. "So I ran."

Ran to the only place he felt safe at the time. With James and Lily. He had decided to return to Bulgaria that night. After crying and crying, trying to understand where things had gone wrong as Prongs and Whiskers tried to comfort him.

The answer was clear, though. It all had gone south the moment they left Hogwarts and starting to live in the real world, in a world that was slowly burning in the fires of a terrible war. They all had changed. One way or another.

Until they weren't compatible anymore…

He decides to return to Bulgaria that night.

Because he was afraid he would do something terrible. Or worst, that Sirius would do something stupid and the consequences would break him. They were Blacks, after all. Death and Destruction were part of their nature.

"Azkaban mess with one's mind. You know that as well as I do. Sirius and I had a tempestuous relationship the last years we were together, so it would make sense he would return to that moment when we were nothing but enemies. Threats to the other wellbeing. I don´t want him to feel that way and react in fear or anger, as using magic, would only delay the healing he needs."

He finished with cold eyes. Narcissa nods, a grimace on her lips. Her curiosity satisfied and her heart filled with sadness and bitterness. She pitied her cousin and truly wished that he could have a happier life from now on.

"So you will wait until he´s stable?"

"Yes." He sighed, sounding tired. "Also, that´s the reason why Moony is with him. They love each other. Always had. Even after the incident with Snape."

He had been jealous of their relationship. Always had. But also, always loved Moony as much as he loved Regulus. And James. And Lily…and Pete. All of them are his pack. Brothers, sister. Treasures. He adored them. Still does.

And he had wished for them (Pads and Moony) to be happy together.

Had been truly sad when Remus told him that their relationship had ended a few months before That Night.

"Alright." She says. "I will speak no more about this."

Antares send her a thankful look and allow himself to release all the tension he had unknowingly retained in his body.

"Hati?" Harry popped his head into the room, wearing an innocent expression that makes Jason smile. He truly looks a lot like James.

"Yes, cub?" He allows, trying to not laugh at the feeing innocence on his son´s face. He still needs to get better in his lies, but in the last weeks, he´s getting better. His Marauder hearth is full of pride on their little tricksters; all the pups are mischievous spirits in the very deep of their core. He couldn´t be happier.

"Can we go to the Great Theater in Rome this weekend?" He asked, doing a very impressive puppy eyes impression.

Hati wasn´t moved, though. He had seen Padfoot´s for years, he had gained immunity against that trick a long time ago. But then, his son and nephews didn't need to know that.

"Of course, my dear." He said with a smile, laughing softly as his son smiled and disappeared behind the door. Draco and Nymphadora exclamations of glee following no much after.

His cousin joins him, covering her laugh with her hand. "Seems like we´re going to Rome, then." She said, amused. Remembering their own travel to the Coliseum and the wonderful secret was inside the old ruins.

It had been one of the few vacations Grandfather had taken them all of them. An entire month in Rome, learning the culture of the still thriving community that resided in there as well as the many rites and rituals they were there. But, also, it had been the first encounter with the old gods.

"It would be educational for them." Antares rebutted mischievously.

"Sure it will." Narcissa agreed, chuckling. "Think Dromeda told them?"

"Absolutely. She likes telling them stories." Jason says with a smile. "I think she feels bad for not sharing with her daughter, so now she´s sharing with all of the pups."

"Good for her," Narcissa says. She likes seeing her sister so happy. Enjoying their family.

Antares nods, he feels the same.

OoO

The week passes in a blink and before they know it the date of the trial arrives.

Jason had spent the time dining with political influent families; including the Longbottoms, who received him with icy gazes and even colder words, until he told them about Bellatrix fate and offered them what was in her vault (minus the cup, for obvious reasons) as compensation for what she had done as tradition demanded of him. As well as his help with the issue of Frank and Alice´s health.

The Blacks had a say: _Nothing, not even death, is irreversible._

It meant that if you looked in the right places, you could find the right answer. And if not, then you made one.

The Black Household had a liking for shattering limits. That´s why they loved Dark Magic and were proficient in it.

Now, Jason was sure that their madness could be healed. And was really interested in finding an answer to that. He owns it to Frank and Alice. They may have not been really close, but he had grown to like and respect them. Furthermore, the wrong had been caused by a member of his family, so it was his duty to rectify it.

Augusta had seemed more agreeable after that. Even going as far as to tell Antares that she was glad he was home once again and that she hoped he could hold the Black Family one more time. That´s when Antares remembers, Augusta´s mother had been a Black. Their families were connected by blood even if Augusta herself was not a Black witch.

He had also started the preparative for the ritual that would bring Pettigrew to them, screaming and kicking, but alive. It was a complicated ritual as it was more like a summoning than a locating spell and with his limited abilities was a tiring business.

It made his respect for his mother and cousins grow, because they did this kind of things with an air of easiness that have him gaping with awe now that he had tried to do it, and reaffirmed, that yes, this was just not for him.

He had also picked the Cup that was inside Bella´s vault. It was the fricking Hufflepuff Cup! When he realized that Jason cursed loudly.

He knew he had to destroy it, but Morgana, it was a _waste_.

Voldemort was such a _prick_.

He fumed as he asked Kriptock to move the item to his own vault. Now, he just needed to get a Basilisk fang. Now, this could wait until Harry went back to Hogwarts so they could retrieve the corpse of the one that was hidden inside the school, in the Chamber of Secrets (And that had been mind-blowing for many reasons. None of them good.), which belonged to them as conquest laws dictated.

And, fuck, that thing was to get the family gold grew into new categories. But it made Jason sick.

His cub had no business fighting a fucking basilisk!

And how is that no one of the professors did something?! Is not like there are many creatures that petrified their victims! They learn that shit in third year for fuck sake!

He was going to sue the shit out of Dumbledore during the trial that was to come. Ruining him and all he has accomplished in his long life and then, he will kill the old man. A fitting end to the man that had dared to put his family in so much suffering.

oOo

The trial had begun.

The first one to be judged was the late minister Crouch. He had received the wrath of every one of the twenty-eight Noble and Ancient Houses. It had been an ugly hearing. All of them wanted blood to state a precedent that something like _this_ would never happen again.

Because no matter how they defined themselves (Dark, Grey or Light.) they were all purebloods who a way or another liked the power they hold and where horrified that some lesser member of the government had _dared_ to put an innocent man (an _Heir of a Noble House)_ in Azkaban without trial.

 _Dementor kiss_ was the unanimous decision.

Antares was happy to see the sentence pass. Death was a good payment for what he had done. Even if he would have preferred to have him suffer more before it.

He also felt vindicated when he saw fear shine in Dumbledore´s eyes when he was called at the center of the court.

He smiled at him; all sharp teeth and no humor. A silent promise. One that said that he would regret the day he declares himself an enemy of House Black.

The old man had become overconfident in his old age. Forgetting his position. Forgetting the rules that governed this world and who exactly had the power. Forgetting why House Black was always referred to as the power behind the crown.

Ted did a magnificent job; conducting the hearing exactly as Jason wanted it to be. At the end of it, Albus Dumbledore had been excommunicated of all his positions of power, leaving only as of the Headmaster of Hogwarts just because Antares still had plans for him.

Some light families seemed upset about this ending but neither of them actually did something about it. Especially now that House Longbottom was an ally of House Black. A miracle for some, a warning for others, and an augury for what was to come to all of them.

The old man was furious. But he knew better than let his emotions to get the best of him. So he accepted his fate with all the dignity he had left. He vowed at the Wizengamot and leave the courtroom.

Jason used the break to speak with some other Lords and Lady´s, reaffirming positions and dancing around threats and promises with the members of the Wizengamot that he still didn´t have under his thumb.

When the next trial starts, Antares breath is stolen.

Sirius is conducted to the accused chair, in the middle of the court, facing the minister of magic, Moony is shadowing him a few steps behind, not intruding but ready to act if something went wrong, thus, thanks to Antares wishes and the way Cornelius wanted to have his favour.

His mate is thinner and palid than what can be considered healthy, but that´s not what shocked Antares so much. Is the way in what Padfoot carries himself. Sirius looks….fragile. There is no other way to describe it. And it blows his mind as it not something he would have thought to use as a description of the man that was Sirius Black.

Sirius was a very strong person. So confident in himself that was borderline in arrogance, he was bold and carefree. A pillar inside their pack. Second only to Prongs. It was…disconcerting, to say the least.

It made his blood boil.

He cursed at the gods and vowed that when he found Peter, the traitor would desire he wasn´t born for death would be a mercy when he finished with him.

"…Let´s us begin." Cornelius' voice shook him out of his bloodlust. Forcing him to focus on the matter of hand. Pouring his eyes on his mate; maintaining his lips sealed and his presence as intrusive as he could. It was not his place to force this issue. No matter how much he loved Sirius.

"Mr. Black, this court apologizes for the evil we had caused to you in the past." The actual Minister sounds completely sincere and apologetic. "For they are unforgivable. Regardless, we are here to correct that mistake and give you the just trial you deserved. We desire to do this as unpainful and fast as possible. Would you allow this body government to use veritaserum on you?"

A difficult set of emotions pass over Sirius' face but settle on what´s definitely the Black Mask and forces an aloof "Yes." out of his lips. He maintained his attention is on the minister, not a single glance in Jason´s direction.

"Please administrate the doses." Amelia instructed. A young wizard took the little vial and walked to where Sirius was seat. His mate didn´t hesitate and drown it in one gulp, immediately his posture relaxed and his eyes glazed.

"It´s working." Announced the same wizard that handed Padfoot the vial, the minister nodded and said "We will proceed to ask the questions, now. If you please Mr. Reiner." In direction to the minister employee that was going to lead the interrogation.

"Of course, Minister." Reiner nodded, he was a little nervous about this. He could feel the predatory eyes of the twenty-eight lords on him and on the accused, waiting calmly as they would do with a prey. "First, please, tell me your name."

"Sirius Orion Black." Padfoot answer was immediate; a slightly slurred tone accompanying his words. Not entirely different to when he was drunk.

"Alright. Now, tell us at what age you left your household."

"Fifteen. Two months before my birthday."

Jason sighed as the man nodded, checking the answer as true and marked that the potion was working correctly. He closed his eyes. What was going to follow was something he died to know and, at the same time, something he would rather not have to listen ever in his life.

"First question of the interrogation. Mr. Black, could you tell the court if you were the secret keeper of the Potters?"

"No." The answer was firm, and the room filled with mumbles. The story they knew was entirely different as it had been stated by Albus Dumbledore that he had realized the incantation himself. It put the old man in an even more ill position that he had been after his own trial.

"A-Alright." Reiner continued, doing his best to not let the surprise being obvious in his tone. "Then, Mr. Black, this court would like to know what happened the 31st of October 1981."

"I had a bad feeling all day, so I decided to go and check on Peter after dinner. He was the secret keeper…James and I decided to change as me being the secret keeper would be to obvious, we were brothers, and our bond was not unknown. Peter should have been a better choice."

It´s hard to hear this. Because in theory, it was not a bad plan. Peter was not involved in the war and he going into hiding would be easier than keeping Sirius out the radar of the Death Eaters. As anyone who had known them could have told that James trusted Sirius the most, even if they didn't understand why.

And furthermore, none of them could have predicted a betrayal form Peter; kind, softhearted and generous Peter who all of them consider the little brother of their family. More of a Hufflepuff than a Gryffindor. Little Wormtail had been the one that was meant to be protected, but nevertheless their equal and, unexpectedly, the one who stopped them from going too far most of the time.

It still sounded like a bad joke.

That he had betrayed them; that he had sold James and Lily.

But…

"He wasn´t there." Sirius voice, even with the effects of the potion, was becoming erratic and hold a terrible pain. "My bad feeling grew at noticing that the place hadn´t been ransacked. So I flew to Lily and James´ place. There I found…I…the door had been blown up. James was lying on the floor, pale and motionless. A fearful expression on his face. Dead. Murdered."

But the proofs lied before them and even a blind man could see the truth. Peter had betrayed the pack and caused the deaths of their Alphas.

"I run upstairs. Not really wanting to believe what I was seeing. I found Lily there. She was dead too, lying next to the crib. Harry wasn't there."

 _What._

And the court erupted in whispers once again. The last statement had shaken them all to the core, where was harry then? How had he needed with the muggles? Had Albus stolen the boy? How had he known where the potters had been hiding?

Jason was appalled as well. But for other reasons. His mate´s expression was empty, lifeless. The face of a man that thought he had lost everything.

The terrible truth danced in front of him. _Sirius had thought Harry was death as well._ He felt sick, the idea only was enough to send him into despair. Losing their cub as well as their Alphas was…

"Lord Black? Are you well?" A feminine voice, as well as a soft touch on his shoulder, shook him out his hideous thoughts. It was Lady Greengrass, Elene, if he was not mistaken. Loyal to his family for her connection with Regulus, as she had been a part of his court during Hogwarts.

Antares took a depth breath and nodded. "Yes."

It´s a lie.

Nevertheless, now wasn't the time to have a breakdown. He needed to be strong. To be there for the rest of the pack and for his mate.

He thanked her worry with a small tip of his head, before refocusing his attention on his mate; looking past him to face Remus. His beta looked as horrified as he felt. He wished he could hug him –and Pads, as well.– to offer them comfort.

"Harry wasn´t there." Sirius continues. Forced by the veritaserum, no doubt, for his expression is still void of emotion and his voice is off. "They were gone. So I decided to track Peter down. I´m a good tracker. He was sloppy. It was easy to find him."

 _Of course, it was._ Jason closes his eyes, pained. _It was a trap._

"It was a trap." Sirius confirms. "He was expecting me. He screamed that I had betrayed the Potters and then, blew up the entire street." A laugh that reminds him of Bella, follows. "He cut his finger and ran. The fucker escaped."

The fact that he had laughed was disturbing. He shouldn´t be able to. But then, his pain, rage and desperation were huge. And yeah, enough emotion could mess with the potion. But in this case, didn't help much.

"May I ask a question, Minister?" Jason's voice carries over the silent room.

"O-Of course, Lord Black." Is an unusual request but, then, the entire trial was an especial situation and so they could have some exceptions. Especially, if the special favour was asked for the most influent Lord in the room.

Antares didn't stand up. He wasn´t sure he could do it without wobble. So he limited himself to straighten his back and let his eyes turn gold.

"Before he escaped, did he turn himself into a rat?"

Sirius looked at him for the first time. "Yes." No hesitation, no doubt. In his eyes only a void that was even more frightening than any kind of rage and hate that could be in them.

"I see." He said, stretching a feral smile.

Amelia cleared her throat. "Was Peter Pettigrew an animagus?" She asked what everyone was thinking, the ones that had known them wondered how it was possible when gaining the ability was necessary a great control and power and Pettigrew was known for having these characteristics.

Sirius opened his mouth to answer but was silenced by a hand gesture from Antares.

"All of us are." He informs the room. "We turned ourselves into animagus at the age of fifteen. Registered ourselves in France and Bulgaria under Dorea Potter´s instruction and guidance."

Amelia nods. The point stands and no one asks more questions about the legality of it.

"Why we were not aware of this?"

"We were at war." Sirius answers, slowly, carefully. "It was better to maintaining it a secret."

He´s not lying. But he´s not saying the truth either. Jason is quite proud of his mate and his desire of protecting their pack by keeping the real reason as a secret.

"Of course, if this body had proportionated a trial for my mate, you would have known this important fact and would help you to help catch the real criminal." It´s said as a mocking thing, but it´s more a warning of his still burning temperament. Of his anger about this topic.

"Y-You´re right, Lord Black. Let´s continue." The Minister babble, scared. "I think this body had heard enough. It´s time to vote. Please, raise your hands if you consider that Sirius Black is guilty."

No hands up.

"Now, if you consider Sirius Black is innocent."

And unanimous answer.

Jason let out a relived sigh.

It was over.


End file.
